My (Not So) Miserable Life
by AwkwardAuthor25
Summary: A new school, a brand new cellphone, a weirdo Amu can't remember, drama, secrets, new boyfriends, heart-clenching moments, and new friends as well as old. What's not to love? Well, if it was you, you definitely wouldn't!(No charas)*WARNING: OOC-ness!*(First story! Please give me good feedback! Thank you for taking time to read this!)
1. Chapter 1

Me: Um...*stands there awkwardly* Hi, I'm AwkwardAuthor25. You can just call me Nechigo if you want...

Ikuto: *sweatdrop* you really are like your user name.

Me: Shut up! It's just that it's my first story and I don't know how to react!

Amu: Okay, calm down.

Me: Do we do the disclaimer now?

Ikuto: *facepalms*

Amu:Well then... Nechigo-chan doesn't own us. Only the plot.

Me: *stuttering* Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1

Normal POV

It was finally the first day of high school and Amu was, well, being **Amu**. not to mention she already had her "cool  & spicy" act up and running. She ran up to the board to check her homeroom class. Hinamori….Amu….her eyes light up as she finds it and the light dims from her eyes right away again. She sighs heavily, putting a hand to her head and shaking it slightly. She rolled her eyes and started running to her classroom.

Amu's POV

My homeroom teacher is….SURPRISE, SURPRISE! Nikaidou-sensei for the 6th time in a row. The fricking 6th YEAR! Not to mention the fact that neither Nagi nor Rima are in my homeroom. Never mind that, **Tadase** , the **most important** factor, was NOT in my class! (A/N: Ha! No you don't Amu! You have Ikuto for a reason! Sorry Tadamu fans! This is an AMUTO fic!) _URRGGHHH!_ Why did my life have to suck? I must've zoned out for quite a while because in what seemed like a few minutes, the bell rang. And my next class is….PE?! Yep, you leave it to for my life to suck. Wait no, wait yes. Never mind. As I walk outside of the changing rooms, i notice that Tadase is in my class. I guess that putting up with Nikaidou and Saaya for another year was worth it to see Tadase in my class. All the girls in a 10-foot radius of him swooned as he gave his signature princely smile. I wish I could show my inner self like those girls although it would be very embarrassing. I realize that I'm staring and quickly avert my gaze muttering a "whatever". All of my classmates just echoed "Cool  & Spicy!" except for Saaya and a weird girl named Akiko who supposedly "glared" at me. I roll my eyes earning a few more "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd and sit down on my number. The teacher blabbed on and on and on about stuff that I didn't care about, but before I knew it, we were all dismissed to recess, or in a more "sophisticated" way, according to Saaya and her cronies, (A/N: Pfft! I don't think they even know what sophisticated means!) " _break_ ". Both of her cronies are dumb, just like her. but gosh, that Akiko girl, I know, I just **know** , that she has this thing for my friend Saito whom I've known since 1st grade. The thing is, he's a Bronie, so….that's um….kind of creepy….I must've kind of zoned out again because when Nagi and Rima came, I didn't really notice.

"Hi guys," I said, smiling weakly.

"What's wrong?" they both asked in a worried tone. I suppress a laugh and cheerfully say,

"Nothing!"

"Guess what?" Rima asked.

"What?" I said, playing along.

"We have the next class ALTOGETHER!" Rima shrieked, causing people to stare at us like we're weirdos. (A/N: I already told you; sorry for the OOC-ness!)

"Rima!" I whisper-shout. " **Shush**! Tone it down a bit, will you?" Nagi chuckles, shaking his head. "Not. Helping. The. Situation. Here! I whisper-scream.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah,. We love you too." says an unusually giddy Nagi. ' _We as in Rima and Nagi? Wait….'_

"WE?!" I scream, causing even **more** people to stare at us for the second time in the last minute.

"Look who's causing the scene now." says Rima, rolling her eyes. ' _Oh great. Just great.'_ I think as Nagi and Rima chuckle. ' _This is going to be a_ _ **long, long**_ _year._ '

* * *

Me: Thank you! *bows* Hope you enjoyed!

Ikuto: That's it? Not a lot, kid.

Me: *pouts* Meanie.

Amu: Ikuto! Don't be mean!

Ikuto: But-

Amu: No buts!

Me: *sniffling* Review please?


	2. Chapter 2

Me: Hello, this is AwkwardAuthor25 (or Nechigo!) on the second chapter!

Ikuto: Oh? Seems like the newbie's pretty prepared!

Amu: Yeah, guess so.

Me: Amu, can you just do the disclaimer?

Ikuto: I'll do it with Amu-koi!

Amu: Don't call me that!

Ikuto: I can do whatever I want!

*Amu starts chasing Ikuto*

Me: *sweatdrop* I guess I'll have to do it this time. I don't own anything except the plot!

* * *

Chapter 2

Amu's POV

"So….are you guys dating or something?" I probe gently on our way to Band, smiling slyly.

"Yeah." says a blushing Rima. I smirk. ' _Oh, well_ _ **this**_ _is interesting!_ ' I think as we walk in. As soon as I walk in, I notice that Tadase is in my class. His princely aura fills the whole room. Rima huffs in annoyance.

"Still crushing on the prince, I see." I blush madly.

"W-who s-said I d-did?!" I stuttered. UGH! Real smooth, Amu! Real smooth.

"Um….you?" Nagi said, rolling his eyes matter-of-factly.

"W-when?!" I argued.

"Last year! Sheesh Amu, do you have amnesia or short-term memory loss or something?!" Rima said, rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner. "Besides, it's **super** easy to tell!" she basically but not really screamed.

"Why thank you Rima! You just blabbed my secret to the entire world!" I hissed at her in pure annoyance with the most sarcasm I could muster.

"You're very welcome." she said, smirking. I was about to retort when I noticed Saaya flirting with Tadase in the corner of the room. And he was seemingly enjoying it! Ugh! That's really low. And disgusting. I huffed, extra cranky and turned around. Everyone was chatting so loud. I sat down with Rima and Nagi, still cranky about the flirting thing. After Band ended, I started walking to Math, saying bye to my friends along the way. ' _Woo hoo! What fun! Math! UGH~_ ' I thought. Yes, all the way to the "UGH~". I walked inside, and as soon as Saito saw me, he pulled me over and said,

"Woah! Who skunked **your** dog?" I groaned noticeably while giving him a forced, half-hearted smile. I threw my bag over my shoulder and grumbled even more noticeably.

"Almost everyone." I said, boredly blowing my soft cotton-candy pink hair out of my face and staring at him.

"Even Nagi and Rima?"

"Quite pitifully, yes, even Nagi and Rima."

That's bad. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked with a shy grin on his face. I smile at his usual shyness.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you though? Still nervous on the first day of highschool, Sai-chan?" His face quickly flustered, his cheeks turning fiery red.

"Please don't call me that!" he pleaded. ' _Maybe…._ ' I thought, but instead replied,

"Maybe….Sai-chan!" and stuck my tongue out at him in a playful manner. He sighed, shaking his head and smiling.

"I'll take that as a no then." I grinned devilishly at him.

"You know it!" and he threw his hands up, signaling defeat. The bell rang, and we walked out to lunch together. "Bye!" I yelled as I sprinted for the quad. "I'll you see for 5th and 6th period!" He stood there for a moment, looking dumbstruck. Then he snapped out of his daze and gave me a somewhat sad-looking smile.

"Bye Amu!" he called out to me, recovered from his sudden sadness and smirking, challenging me.

"Bye **Sai-chan**!" I said, smirking back and gladly accepting his challenge. (Emphasis on Sai-chan!) Hmmm…. Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.

 _*Time Skip to about 2 months later! Brought to you by Ikuto and his cat ears*_

I was most likely **completely** off when I said this year might not be so bad after all. The freaking substitute Band teacher **didn't know how to freaking conduct**! So yeah, long story short, **I** had to do it instead of her.

 _*20 minutes later*_

Someone _please_ remind me **why** _**I**_ had to do this stupid conducting shit? Right, I happened to be there when the stupid substitute asked for volunteers! I unceremoniously stepped up onto the podium, waiting for my classmates to notice me. I don't even remember what songs we played or whatever the heck we did. All I know is that about 20 minutes into the class, everyone started yelling at me. After class was over, I felt like pond scum. People kept asking stupid questions like, "Is she your mom?" and "Why did she let **you** conduct?". "You're so terrible!" echoed out the room and I started to feel dizzy. I wanted to scream, "My mom isn't as ugly as that thing!", but like the stupid girl I am, I was too busy being defensive to say it. I think that's when Rima lost it and screamed,

"Everyone just shut up and stop poking your fat ***** in Amu's business! Don't you all have something better to do?!" immediately, the crowd shrouding me from the exit evaporated, and a few stray tears escaped my eyes, but I wiped them away harshly before Rima and Nagi could see them.

"Thanks….guys…." I said, my voice slightly cracking and unsteady.

"Hey, no problem." they said at the same time, looking at me and worry clouding their gazes.

"I'm….okay….I think." I mumbled the last part. Rima walked over to me and hugged me tightly, silently, wordless comforts exchanged. Nagi just stood next to us solemnly. Tears threatened to spill over my eyes again as the bell rang. I quickly broke out of the hug, waved not to be rude, and ran to class.

* * *

Me: Hey! I finished the second chappie! : )

Ikuto: Still not a lot of words, kid.

Me: *growls* Will you STOP calling me that?

Ikuto: No.

Amu: Ikuto, you're so mean to Nechigo-chan!

Me: He's just jealous because Tadase is already in the story and he's not!

Ikuto: What? That's not true! *twitches*

Me: Ha! You just twitched, you're annoyed!

Ikuto: *glares*

Me: *ignores*

Amu: *laughs awkwardly* Haha... Review please?


	3. Chapter 3

Ikuto: *reads over chapter* What?! I'm not in this one either? What's wrong with you?

Me: There's nothing wrong with me!

Ikuto: When do I show up?!

Me: I don't know! I'm still writing!

Amu: *sweatdrops* Can you guys please stop fighting?

Me & Ikuto: No!

Amu: ...*sighs*

Me & Ikuto: *Keeps arguing*

Amu: Please excuse the hentai cosplay nekomimi and Nechigo-chan's arguing. Now, Nechigo-chan doesn't own anything! Just whatever crazy ideas she has.

Me: My ideas are **not** crazy!

Amu & Ikuto: Sure. *rolls eyes*

* * *

Chapter 3

Amu's POV

I sauntered into the classroom, unable to feel any emotion next to anger and sadness. My mood didn't get any better when Saito smirked and said to me,

"So, I hear that you did an extraordinarily bad job in….?" he abruptly cut himself off when I turned my head towards him to give a death glare, only to end up giving him a half-hearted, teary, frustrated look. I have had **enough** of this shit. Over the past few weeks, Saito had grown closer to Akiko than I would've liked him to. I turned away and wiped away my tears on the back of my already wet hand. Then, turning back around, I shot him the best death glare I'd ever given. Using my cold outer-voice, I said,

"It's none of your business, so shut up about it, please!" I nearly screamed towards the end of it. My eyes dangerously flashed and lashed at him, making him take a couple steps back as his eyes widened.

"Oh….um….okay." he awkwardly stepped to the side while I inwardly winced. I haven't given him that outer-character of mine since the beginning of third grade. ' _Psh…., he can think whatever he wants to, he deserved it!'_ I thought to myself, but I couldn't stop feeling guilty at least a little bit. Then Akiko said something that would never let me be guilty about saying things like that to him. Not ever again. Just one little word:

"Brat." and she smirked, watching me kind of tense up. I stormed inside the classroom and slammed my books down on my desk. ' _Can this day really get any more jacked up?'_ I thought. And thankfully, it didn't. The next day I go to school early, and think that I should have just stayed home, but no, it **had** to be a Tuesday. Our Band teacher was still out, but thankfully his father, who can actually freaking **conduct** , substituted for us. After Band, and a good period of Band, (which is pretty rare in it's own nature) I went up to Tadase, hoping to ask him a question about the group orientation for our team. And as soon as I'd tapped him on the shoulder, something VERY unexpected happened. He turned around, shot me a glare, rolled his eyes and confronted me with an annoyed huff.

"What the hell do **you** want? By the way, stop being a stalker. What are you, some kind of freak?!" His new "group of friends" laughed like the idiots they were. My amber hues widened slightly in surprise, then narrowed as I yelled,

"Well, SORRY that I had to ask a freaking question! And what? Now tapping a shoulder to ask a question is classified as stalking? Geez, did anyone ever tell you that you are a brat that needs to go look in the mirror to see how ugly he is, inside and out?!" I finished off my rant with a huff, and his blood-colored irises widened.

"Excuse me, did you just say-"

"Well, **excuse you** and yes, yes I did. If **you** have a problem with what I just said, then sue me! I don't give a shit if you do!" with that, i spun around and stomped off to class. As soon as I walked in, I slumped down in my seat and buried my head on my hands. I felt like crying. Again. I'm such a weakling. I couldn't believe that I used to like that piece of crap not worthy to be in this world! The hour went by in a blur and most of my steam was blown off. I rushed out to lunch, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. I sighed in relief as I found Nagi and Rima waiting for me at our usual spot. Nagi let out a sigh of relief.

"You're finally here! Thank goodness, I thought I was gonna starve!" Rima elbowed him the ribs, shooting him a glare. "What?!" he asked her. She just shook her head and facepalmed. I smiled as I sat down.

"Oh really? Then sorry for almost starving you." I winked playfully at both of them. Then Tadase walked past us, shooting me a glare. I gladly returned the favor. As soon as he was out of sight, I scoffed and turned my head away and sharply bit my tongue to refrain from snarling a sarcastic remark. Rima and Nagi's eyes widened, like they'd just seen a ghost. "What're you two staring at?" I huffed, turning red from their staring.

Rima's POV

My eyes widened at Amu's words, even wider than before.

"You got over him?!" I sputtered like an idiot. Ugh. I absolutely **hate** it when I sputter like an idiot!

"Damn straight I'm over him!" Amu screamed.

"Ow! Okay, we get it! You don't have to blow my eardrums!" I growled, giving her a distasteful scowl.

"What happened? I mean, between the two of you in the short time we were gone?" Nagi inquired, distracted from his binge-eating, **ahem** , I mean, _lunch_ and now paying attention and mostly drawn into the conversation.

"What happened? WHAT HAPPENED?!" Amu screeched.

"Calm down and just **tell us** like a normal person! Remember? You really **don't** have to blow our eardrums!" I said, wincing, my hands over my ears.

"Fine, you wanna know what he called me? He called me a freaking **stalker**!" Amu attempted to calm down and miserably failed. My eyes grew wide. Again. Gosh, this is starting to become annoyingly frequent. Nagi looked at me, sharing the exact same expression. Hey, on the bright side, at least I'm not the **only** one.

Amu's POV

I patiently, calmly (well, I tried to be calm) waited for their response. 3….2….1….here it comes….

"HE WHAT?!" They screamed loud enough for the **whole entire** school to hear. I facepalmed.

"Shhhhh!" I shushed them instinctively, but it was **way** too late. The **whole** school was already staring at us. "Thanks a lot." I grumbled.

"You're welcome." they both said at the same time, grinning like idiots. Yeah, my friends do that sometimes.

"I **hate** you two right now." I mumbled to my bento box and myself. But mostly just myself.

"We love you too." they said sarcastically, rolling their eyes. Well, at least Nagi did. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. We all split up to our respectful classrooms. Thank goodness I have ELA last period, or I would've died already. Or maybe I might've snapped and went on a killing spree? I don't know, either one. Either way, it wouldn't have been pretty…. **at all**. Like, at all at all. And today was a writing period. Thank goodness. At home later that night, I barely ate anything at all for dinner. And after refreshing shower, I sat on my bed, knees drawn up to my chest and pondering whether I should or shouldn't drop my character. Hm….I haven't wondered that for a long time.

* * *

Me: Well that was a lot of work...so far this was the hardest to write, and I have one more written at this moment.

Ikuto: You call that a lot of work?

Me:*starts crying*

Amu: You made her cry!

Nagi: *walks in* That's fake.

Me: *stops crying* Wow, you just blew it, Nagi!

Rima: *walks in stomping* Nechigo! What is the big idea here?

Me: For what?

Rima: Why is the purple-headed crossdresser my *gags* **boyfriend**?! I don't want anything to do with him!

Nagi: Are you sure, Rima-chan?

Rima: Don't call me that, Crossdresser! That's Mashiro-sama to you!

Nagi:*cringes* Please no, Rima-chan!

Rima: *goes into chibi fire mode* I said it's Mashiro-sama!

Amu & Ikuto: *sigh*

Me: *muttering* It's always so loud here... I can't focus.

Rima: *turns around* What did you say?!

Me: Um...um...EEK! *runs away*

Rima: *chases after me*

Amu: *sweatdrops* Review please? Oh, and please don't hesitate to ask any questions!

Ikuto: *hugs Amu*

Amu: *blushes then elbows him the ribs*


	4. Chapter 4

Me: Agh! I'm still writing and I haven't figured out when Ikuto's showing up! He's going to murder me!

Ikuto: *creepy smile* Damn straight I'm going to murder you! You let another character come into the story before me? And not just anyone, you let-

Me: *kicks in the face* Oops! *winces* Sorry, but I can't have you giving whoever is still reading this a spoiler.

Amu: Nechigo-chan, is anyone even reading this anymore?

Me: *flinches and then freezes*

Ikuto: *pokes me in the face* I think you just killed her...

Amu: Ehh?! No, don't die!

Me: *turns my head* It's okay, I'm not going to die... *soul flies out of body*

Amu: No! Wait! *chases after my soul*

Ikuto: *yawns and stretches* The crazy author obviously doesn't own anything.

* * *

Chapter 4

Amu's POV

I woke up to the sound of my mom screeching my name. I groaned loudly and attempted to sit up.

"Hinamori Amu! Wake up this instant! You're going to be late for school!" I shot out the bed instantly and took a glance at my alarm clock. It was 7:50!

"Shit!" I screamed at myself, pulling on a random sweater and some jeans. Thunder echoed in the distance. ' _Double shit!_ ' I thought.

"Amu, hurry up! we have to drop Ami off first!" my mom screamed.

"Okay, I'm coming! Don't leave without me!" I shouted frantically, running down the stairs like a total maniac. On my treacherous journey to the door, I grabbed my backpack, flute, lunchbox, and an umbrella. Also a piece of toast, but that was irrelevant to the situation. I ran out into the garage, slipping on my rainboots, and ran to the car, slipping inside and slamming the door. Mom drove like a madwoman as I clung to the armrest for dear life. I really didn't want to die, but to be honest, I actually could envision my gravestone. But back to my mother's mad driving. She was driving at an astounding speed of **60 miles per hour**. In local traffic! At 8 in the morning! We just kinda….I guess….um….dumped (?) Ami at the drop-off area and mom rushed off. I actually kind of felt sorry for her, but i really didn't want to be late to school. It was a mad race against time and my mom sped through the horde of cars blocking us, this time at **61** miles per hour. I'm gonna die, I'm going to die. I'm gonna fricking DIE! But obviously I didn't because, well, I'm still talking. We somehow made it to my school by 8:22. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me and made it into the classroom at 8:24. WOW, I surprised myself. One minute to spare! But, instead of welcoming me into the classroom, the substitute we had glared at me.

"Office. Now." she hissed. My heart sank down into my boots and I opened my mouth to speak. Finally gathering enough courage, I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, along with my mouth this time.

"I- " she glared at me again. "Yes ma'am." Tears started filling my eyes as I jogged (more like attempted to jog) to the office. I stopped for a brief moment in front of the office, sucking up (or reabsorbing) my tears. I took a deep breath in and opened the door. The office aid looked up at me, smiling despite the day's chilliness.

"How may I help you?" she asked quietly with an angelic voice. I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. ' _It's okay, it's just a late slip._ ' I thought to myself.

"I-I'm here for the late slip." I said, stumbling over the words 'late slip' but keeping a cool expression on my face. She cocked an eyebrow at me, obviously questioning as to why.

"Are you sure? It just turned 8:27 and seeing as how you already dropped your stuff off at your classroom…." she trailed off, focusing all of her attention on the slip as she completed it. I sighed, both inwardly and outwardly.

"I don't even really know. My substitute teacher asked me to. I'll talk to Nikaidou-sensei when he actually gets back or something. "Oh, don't you need my name?" I asked nonchalantly, while boredly examining my fingernails. On the inside though, I was freaking out, like completely flipping out. I wanted to hit something. I sighed again.

"Oh? I already know your name. Remember me, Amu?" I stepped back a little bit by a little bit as I racked brain for this nameless person's identity. She **did** look, to say the utmost least, familiar. Long blonde hair…. dark colored eyes…. I squealed uncharacteristically before clapping my hand over my mouth. It was more of a habit now than an actual reaction from me. I grinned and peeled my hand off of my mouth, squealing again. Which was fine because I **knew** her. I couldn't believe it. my luck for the whole day had just changed. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but still. I opened my mouth to shout her name.

* * *

Amu: Who is it?

Me: Can't tell you.

Ikuto: I know! It's-

Me: *kicks him in the face again* Oops...Sorry...not.

Ikuto: *gets up* You wanna go, kid?!

Me: Sure! If you have no problem getting beat up by a "kid"!

Ikuto: Oh-

Amu: SHUT UP! Both of you!

Me & Ikuto: *shrinks back*

Amu: You two better stop.

Me: *sighs* I wish everyone would at least **try** to guess who the person is.

Amu: Please review, or Nechigo-chan might lose her soul for real this time.


	5. Chapter 5

Me: *squealing excitedly*

Ikuto: What's up with the kid?

Amu: Nechigo-chan just read the reviews.

Me: *still squealing*

Amu: In place of our dying author here, I would like to thank Rose Smith, AnjuSchiffer, and Guest for reviewing and the favorites by imonikanikolaeva and tausha..karren.3

Ikuto: The kid doesn't own anything...just her crazy ideas.

* * *

Chapter 5

Amu's POV

"Utau!" I screamed and squealed with delight as I tackled her. She laughed out loud, hugging me back tightly. "When did you even come back from your tour?!" I squealed again, happy to see my favorite older sister figure after so long.

"I got back Monday night, and it's good to be back." she sighed contently. I pouted childishly and wriggled out of her embrace, crossing my arms. She giggled a little bit and asked, "What's wrong now?" I pouted even more.

"You got back and you didn't text your poor younger sister! I waited for…." she cut me off mid-rant.

"I didn't know you got a phone, silly!" I thought about it. She was right! She wasn't there when I received a phone for graduating middle school. She snapped me out of my thoughts as she giggled and said, "I understand that you want to catch up, but we could talk at lunch. For now, I think it's best for you to just get back to your first period class." my eyes widened to the size of saucers. ' _Oh no…._ '

"Oh my GOSH I'm LATE! Bye Utau! I'll find you one way or another at lunch!" I yelled and dashed off. She laughed and shook her head at my behavior, giving me a wave. I rushed into the classroom panting. Thankfully, it was only 8:32. I pointedly ignored the substitute as much as I could for the rest of the period, put in a exceptionally good mood after seeing Utau. I hummed my favorite anime opening, which was, at the time, Kuusou Mesorogiwi by Yousei Teikoku. From Mirai Nikki, of course! (A/N: Ahhhhh! Future Diary! *coughs* Sorry, you can go back to reading now.) The kids stared at me weirdly, and I kinda snapped. I glared at them and placed my hand on my hip. They all flinched when they realized that I was glaring at them.

"What are you staring at?! What? I'm not allowed to be happy?" I giggled inwardly as I watched them try to think of something to say and flinched a second time. Sometimes this character provides the best laughs of all time, I won't deny it.

 _*Timeskip (to 4th period) brought to you by Rima and Kusukusu: Bala-Balance!*_

I completely ignored Saito, who was basically begging me to notice him and Akiko, who was staring at me as if she was going to strangle me as I tapped my foot impatiently underneath the desk, waiting anxiously for the bell to ring. ' _3….2….1…._ ' Rrrriinggg! (A/N:Yes, this is my bad attempt at imitating a school bell. Sorry! XD) As soon as I heard the bell ring, I shot out of my imprisonating seat and bolted to the door. I rushed outside and looked for Utau. I found her, completely lost and surrounded by a bunch of people what could only be described as her fanboys. She was basically stuck at the entrance to the girls' bathroom, swiveling her head around awkwardly and frantically. I sighed. To think the pop star Hoshina Utau wouldn't be used to her fans by now. Then I suddenly got really angry. Suppressing my former nervousness, I walked up to the still growing crowd. One particular fanboy tried to grab utau. My anger only increased and I snapped. I kicked the rude fanboy into the wall next to Utau, making a clear path for me to walk through. My foot firmly pressed into his back and he choked. I glared at him, even though he most likely couldn't see me.

"Hey, who do you think you are, kicking people and pressing them against the wall with your dirty foot?" I pressed him into the wall even harder and he started panicking. I growled in annoyance.

"Who do you think **you** are, Hotori? Trying to grab my friend, the idol Hoshina Utau? You know, you can't just go around grabbing random people. I could **sue** you for attempted sexual harassment." Well, maybe not really, but then again, I was just doing this to scare him. I honestly didn't care to know all the rules about suing people, so….yeah. He froze up as he heard my voice and then started to laugh.

"The Hoshina Utau? Friends? With you, the biggest loser, Hinamori Amu? *****, please. And me? Attempted sexual harassment? You're kidding. See? No one believes you." by now, Utau had stopped swiveling her head around and was glaring at Tadase as if she was about to kick him into Tuesday. I rolled my eyes and using the foot that was carefully placed on his back, delivered a satisfying kick to his head.

"Says the person who doesn't have any eyes or standards." I snorted. "I mean, who dates _Saaya_? Like, give me a break!" I tapped my chin mockingly, fake thinking. I stopped and smirked. "Oh, sorry. Right here, beneath my 'dirty' shoe. This piece of crap here." All the boys were staring at me, and I was starting to get irritated. I glared at them and they all scooted back a little bit. "Well, what are all of you staring at? Get lost! Shoo!" Looking back at Tadase one last time, they all fled, leaving Utau alone. Much to my satisfaction. I lifted my foot off of Tadase's back and he stood up fast, trying to slap me across the face. Utau gasped. I grabbed him by the hand and flipped him hard against the hard concrete floor, placing my foot on his chest this time. "Next time you try that, you die, you freaking bastard. You get me?" he gulped and nodded. "A word of this gets out from you or any of friends for that matter, you DIE, you get me?" he nodded again. "Good. Now scram, you piece of shit." he got up, dusting himself, and ran away as fast as he could. I winced. I **really** shouldn't have done that. Remember how I said I like this outer character? Scratch that. I **hate** it. Despite that, Utau came up to me, smirking. But I could see the shock plastered all over her face. I wasn't a bad type of shock though, she was just impressed.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" I smirked, remembering the agonizing "training-sessions" that had led to that mess.

"I'll explain on the way." I said, turning around, lunch box still in hand. "Are you still coming?" I asked, back to being cheerful. She smiled and sighed, shaking her head, but not saying no.

"Yep, I'm definitely coming now! Seeing as how you almost killed someone in my defense!" she said teasingly as she put on her oh-so-obviously celebrity sunglasses. She stared at me as we made our way down the hall. I glanced over, the staring starting to make me feel uncomfortable.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I panicked on the inside.

"You didn't get to see him yet, huh?" she asked me. I scrunched my nose, confused about what she was talking about.

"What?" I asked. Utau just smiled and put a finger to her lips, giggling lightly.

"Hi-mit-su!" she said, tapping my nose and walking down the hallway, humming. I pouted and followed after her. Honestly, she made the hallway seem like Broadway. I huffed.

"Fine, be that way and don't tell me. By the way, it was Souma-senpai that taught how to do what you saw back there." Then we reached our usual spot. This time, Nagi was actually pretending to be dead. "Hey Nagi, if you don't sit up, I'll eat your bento." he shot up instantly, making me giggle. I glanced over at Utau. She was still trying to figure out who Souma-senpai was. (A/N: By the way, just for convenience, Utau and Kukai are the same age, and Ikuto is two years older than Amu. (because there are 3 years of high school in Japan!) Sorry if you don't like it inaccurate! -) I rolled my eyes. "If you want to know who he is that badly, I'll bring him over!" I said and dashed away before Utau could even respond.

Utau's POV

I watched Amu rush off and smiled. By the looks of it, Amu hadn't met onii-chan yet. I sat down and starting eating my lunch while reading a magazine that I was featured in. I felt Rima staring at me and looked up. She flinched.

"What?" I asked. She laughed nervously.

"It's just, um, kind of strange to see a celebrity reading a magazine they are in…." She gulped and forced a smile at me.

"Hm…. I never thought about it that way. I might seem so though…." I said, smiling at her. I looked to Nagihiko. "You finally caught your little birdie then, huh?" I teased. I internally snickered as his face turned red.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Hoshina-san!" His voice cracked at the end. I rolled my eyes.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" I smacked him on the head with my magazine.

"Yes…. I did." He sighed. I smirked, satisfied with the answer. Suddenly Amu came along, dragging along a boy. I turned my head and my jaw dropped. Lean and muscular, tousled chestnut brown hair, emerald green eyes and a dazzling (but rather cocky) grin. I quickly closed my mouth again but Nagihiko and Amu had already seen it. I mouthed 'Shut up.' to Nagihiko, who was about to speak. He smirked and opened his mouth. I kicked him in the shin, and he winced in pain. 'What? I told you to shut up and you didn't, so I made you.' I said triumphantly. Amu walked up to us, still dragging the boy by the wrist.

"Chotto Amu!" He said as she pushed him towards me. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. He made an attempt to protest, but Amu cut him off.

"Mou, Souma-senpai! You can't just run away! You're the one that said you wanted to see her!" he stood in front of me, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. I smiled and he started chuckling. I walked up to him to give a proper greeting. I stuck my hand out.

"Hoshina Utau, second year. I'm new to Seiyo." With a teasing attitude, I added, "But I suppose you already knew that." He took my hand and shook it before letting go and saying,

"Kukai Souma, also second year. I'm a…." He glanced over at Amu, who was now eating her lunch and shook his head, sighing. "pretty good friend of Amu's." I glanced at him suspiciously. "What? I'm not crushing on your precious younger sister, if that's what you're thinking." I fliched and laughed nervously as he voice exactly what I had been thinking. This guy, even with the good-natured, easygoing attitude, perceived a lot.

"Sorry, I'm just kinda sensitive about that because I've been trying to get her together with my older brother ever since I'd gotten over my brother complex. He stared at me for a moment, making me blush.

"Well-" I cut him off.

"Don't. Laugh." I hissed at him, blushing like a tomato. He looked at me, completely confused.

"I wasn't going to laugh!" He said, chuckling. I pouted and crossed my arms, facing away from him.

"Well, you just did." I mumbled. He kept laughing, just walking towards me. He finally stopped when he was just inched away from me, barely. He was just a little taller than me. Okay, maybe more like 4 inches.

"I really wasn't laughing about your brother complex." I stared up at him, tapping my foot impatiently, indicating for him to go on. "I was laughing at how cute you are when you're flustered, Hoshina." He said bluntly. I blushed.

"Not too bad yourself, Souma." I muttered, picking up on his unique way of addressing people quickly. We stood there staring into each other's eye for a moment before he backed away a little bit and grinned again.

"So, Saturday 1:30 PM at the new ramen place? My treat." He offered. I smirked amusedly.

"How do you know if I have a schedule or not? And what makes you think I'll go on a date with you, Souma? Of all things, why ramen?" He matched my amused stared and replied,

"1. You just got back from your World Tour. 2. Amu told me that you like ramen. And 3. What makes _**you**_ think that it's a date? I'm asking you to compete with me. Better not get cocky there, Hoshina." I chuckled.

"That's a terrible reason to ask someone out…." I mused, but soon my eyes were set aflame. "But I accept your challenge gladly. Winner gets a wish, deal?" He smirked, and said,

"Deal."

"Oi, Kukai! 10 minutes of lunch is left. Let's go kill the game of soccer on the field!" One of his friends called.

"Coming, Yamada!" Amu walked over to "Yamada" and started talking to him casually. I looked to Kukai.

"Who's that?" I asked out of curiosity. He looked at me.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked teasingly. "You know, if you agreed to go on a date with me, you shouldn't ask about other guys. I'm a jealous one." He said, winking. I huffed, blushing and rolled my eyes.

"Just tell me, you idiot." I muttered. He looked at me amusedly before replying,

"That's Yamada, co-captain of the school's soccer team. One of my good friends." My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Then who's the captain?" I was a pretty big fan of soccer, and to be completely honest, I wanted to meet the captain. He gave me a look before continuing,

"You're talking to him right now." He said simply, waiting for my reaction. My jaw dropped, and he gave me a cheeky grin. I blushed, huffing, and turned around with my arms crossed.

"Don't get cocky about it! It's true I wanted to meet you, but…." I stopped myself there, unsure of what to say.

"...But?" He said, motioning for me to go on. I couldn't think of anything.

"Whatever! See you on Saturday!" He looked at me in shock. "What?!" I snapped, annoyed.

"You're actually willing to show up? He asked, surprised. I gave a look. "I mean, you just met me and all." He smirked. "Don't you need **at least** a bodyguard, Little Miss Idol?" I smirked right back.

"Nope. If I get hurt, I'll just sue you!" I said, sticking my tongue out. His jaw dropped.

"What?!" He stared at me. My smirk grew bigger.

"Yep. Now you better show up on time, or I'm leaving and you can know I won't show up again.

 ***Meanwhile….***

Normal POV

Ikuto got up and stretched, sighing and groaning simultaneously. (A/N: How does he even do that?)

"It's going to be a huge pain to drag my butt out of bed to start going to school. I wonder if I can skip classes and just stay for lunch to see Amu?" He said, smirking.

* * *

Me: That was so longgggg! And I'm so tired!

Amu: Well it's your fault for staying up until like, I don't know, **2 in the morning** on a **Sunday** before school!

Me: Oh my gosh! It's already 2?

Ikuto: *dark aura* What the hell, kiddo? Do you wanna fight or something? It's my first chapter and I got like 5 words in!

Me: It's 34! And shut up, you're showing up, aren't ya?!

Ikuto: *growls*

Me: *smirks evilly* Keep in mind, I could delete you off this story and replace you with the Kiddy-King. *cue evil laugh*

Ikuto: *bows down* I'm so sorry.

Me: You should be.

Amu: *walks in and sweatdrops* Review?

* * *

I have been pretty busy lately, so I'm really sorry for the late update! I had it written out, it just took long to type it. Besides, I didn't have my computer for a bit! (*is making excuses*) I somehow did have time to watch two different anime though... I believe it was The Devil Is A Part-Timer (Hataraku Maou-sama) and Mekakucity Actors. Anyway, thank you so much for the support and enjoy reading!

Also, a couple fun facts about this fanfiction:

It started out as what happened to me last school year! So basically up to chapter 4 was my life story. (I wish I knew someone like Ikuto or Utau)

I came up for the idea for this the day a year after all the events happened.

I started writing this before I had even made my fanfiction account.

Sorry for that rant. Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Utau: Wow, you got one more review and favorite!

Me: Yeah! Thank you, PixieChangling16!

Ikuto: *enters out of nowhere and fist pumps* Yes! I make an appearance in this chapter!

Me: *eating mochi* I wouldn't be **that** happy if I were you...

Ikuto: *reads over chapter* Whaaatttt?! I can't believe you-

Me: *shoves mochi into Ikuto's face* Shhh! Don't spoil it!

Ikuto: But-

Me: Shhhh!

Amu: *reads over chapter* I like it this way better... Can we leave it like this?

Me: If Ikuto doesn't behave himself, I will.

Ikuto: I'll do whatever you want.

Me: Hmm... Do the disclaimer.

Ikuto: Nechigo doesn't own anything! Wait a minute...

Me: I still own this fanfic.

Ikuto: Darn!

* * *

Chapter 6

Amu's POV

I yawned and stretched as I got out of bed. It was what, 10 in the morning? It was the best feeling ever. Thank goodness for Saturdays. But I had to get ready really fast or I'd miss my chance to spy on Utau's date with Souma-senpai. I quickly got dressed into a comfortable black-and-white striped tank top and denim shorts, putting on my lock locket in the process. Then brushed the untamed forest that was also known as my hair. I rushed down the stairs, grabbing my phone on the way.

"Mom?" I said loudly.

"Yes Amu?" She hollered back from the kitchen.

"I'm going out to eat lunch with Utau, okay?"

"What? But honey, you haven't had breakfast yet!"

"I'm not that hungry, but I probably will be hungry by the time I get there! See you mom, love you!" I shouted as I slipped on a pair of converse and dashed outside.

"What?! Okay, okay, just don't be late! And call me if you are!" I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. I had to meet Rima beforehand, so I had to run to make it on time. We'd agreed to meet up at the old playground. I reached the playground and spotted Rima.

"Rima!" I shouted, running to her and waving at the same time. "Did you wait long?" I asked. "Sorry for being late." Rima just "Hmph"ed cutely, crossing her arms and jumping off of the swing. She walked right past me.

"Hurry up! You're a whole 5 minutes late!" She shouted at me as she fast-walked toward the bus station.

"Fine then. Be that way." I muttered jokingly as I followed her. We arrived at the intersection where the new ramen place was at exactly 1:20. Souma-senpai was waiting for Utau. I sighed in relief. "Well, I guess all we can do is wait?" I asked Rima. She just nodded in response. "Um…. okay then Rima. I'm going to take a quick look around at the shops, so keep watching for them. Okay?" Rima sighed in annoyance.

"Fine, but it's not my fault if you miss anything, alright? I am **not** videotaping this whole ordeal!"

"Okay, okay. I'll be back in a little bit!" I yelled as I jogged off towards the shops. As I was window-shopping nearby, a voice screeched,

"Oh my gosh! It's the idol, Hoshina Utau!" And another voice echoed,

"Let's go ask her for a signature!" While another chimed,

"Hey, who's that guy with her?" ' _Crap! Utau must have arrived already!'_ I checked my watch. 1:29. ' _Way to go Utau, showing up with one minute to spare and causing a huge commotion.'_ I thought sarcastically. ' _Wait, this isn't the time for this, I've got to go meet Rima!'_ I thought as I started to run towards the shop. I got pushed around by lots of different people. ' _At this rate, I'm going to trip over someone's foot!'_ Just then, I tripped over something. My eyes widened before I squeezed them tight and internally screamed, ' _USOOOOOO~!'_ (A/N: Uso means, basically, "No way!" When used in this form.) I readied myself for the cement floor but something, no, **someone** caught me by the arm. I looked up and opened one eye cautiously. There stood a hot-looking guy who didn't look to much older than me with navy-blue hair and matching eyes. I looked him up and down. He was wearing a black v-neck t-shirt and black jeans as well as with a key charm….that just **happened** to match my lock locket?! I couldn't think of anything to say and he chuckled and said in a smooth, velvety voice,

"Wow, not even a thank you and you just start checking me out?" My face grew red before I jumped away from him and screamed,

"I was **not** checking you out, for your information!" He winced as he covered his ears and looked at me.

"Now that's not a nice way to say thank you, is it Amu-koi?" He said smoothly. I froze before screeching,

"How the **hell** do you even know my name?!" Everyone that had been looking to take a picture of Utau was now staring at us.

"What? You don't remember me? Because I sure know and remember you." He said quizzically, tilting his head. "That's cruel, Amu-koi~." I grew even redder.

"And will you stop calling me that?! It's creepy!" He completely ignored what I had said and replied by wrapping one of his arms around my waist and leaning close to me. He leaned in closer to my ear and whispered,

"Then I guess I'll have to **make** you remember me." In a husky, seductive tone. I grew even a darker shade of red and he nipped my ear.

"EEEEKKKK!" I shrieked extremely loudly as tore myself from him and clutched my ear in a desperate attempt to cover it. He laughed. "Don't laugh about it you….you…. Hentai cosplay nekomimi!" I whisper-yelled. That sort of felt nostalgic for some reason….I must be imagining it. "Wait a minute! Now isn't the time for me to be talking with some weirdo! I have to go find Utau!" I ran off, not giving the other guy time to respond.

Rima's POV

I stepped to the side as a horde of fangirls and fanboys pressed themselves tightly against the windows to get a better look at Utau. After a while, most of them got bored and left, but there was still a quite impressive amount of people plastered against the wall. A loud "EEEEKKKK!" In Amu's voice was heard, and I facepalmed. All the people turned around to face her. Well, at least their attention was off of Utau. For now. Amu came running towards me and I quickly waved her over.

"Good job drawing the crowds away." She looked at me confusedly.

"What did I do?" She asked.

"Nevermind." I glanced through the window. "Utau beat him."

"What?" I rolled my eyes.

"Utau beat Souma-senpai." Amu gave me a look. "In the ramen eating competition." She raised her eyebrow. "Forget it." I sighed heavily, rolling my eyes. "So….I wonder what her wish is going to be." I muttered.

"Can we go inside and crash their date?" Amu asked, huffing boredly.

"I'm not entirely sure that Utau's going to like that….but if you insist. If she tries to kill us, it's your fault."

"Fine, can we just go already?" I sighed.

"Fine." We slowly walked in and hid behind a plant. The store manager just sweatdropped and was about to say something when I put a finger to my lips and whispered, "Don't. Say. **Anything.** " Both Amu and I jumped as we heard a chair scrape on the floor from across the restaurant. The bell on the door dinged as a guy with midnight blue hair walked in. For the first time, I realized that we were the only people in this restaurant.

"Utau, let's-" he was cut off as Amu tackled him to the ground and growled,

"Don't ruin everything!" But it was already too late.

"Onii-chan?!" Utau said and looked over.

"Onii-chan?" Amu muttered, as if she were tasting the words on her lips. "Wait…."

Utau's POV

"ONII-CHAN?!" Amu yelled as loud as humanly possible, jumping up and off of what looked like my poor older brother. But then again, he was smirking. That pervert. (A/N: Yes, Utau just called Ikuto a pervert.) A confused Kukai sat next to me, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Yes, Amu-koi, I am indeed Utau's brother. I told you, I know you." Amu stumbled back and turned to face me.

"Who is this guy? Better question, is he even telling the truth?" I stared at her with a confused expression. Wait, Amu doesn't remember Ikuto? What's going on?

"Wait Amu, you don't remember Ikuto?" I said. Her eyes narrowed and her face scrunched up, trying to remember. She shook her head.

"So this guy's name is Ikuto?" She asked, nodding over at my brother, who had now sat up. I gulped and nodded.

"Sorry to be interrupting the dramatic reunion here, but can you all **please** explain what's happening here?!" Kukai yelled.

"Shut it, Souma." I shot at him. He pouted and crossed his arms like a five-year-old. I huffed and flipped my hair over my shoulder as I felt my cheeks growing warmer. "I'll explain later over the phone, okay?"

"Okay!" He said, grinning. I rolled my eyes. ' _Honestly, this guy, I swear!'_ I turned my head back towards the three figures.

"Can we resume this discussion somewhere else?"

* * *

Me: Dun-dun-dunnnnnn!

Utau: Okay... You're seriously going to leave it like that?

Me: Yes!

Ikuto: *sulking in the corner* You don't like me.

Me: *sweatdrops* You're acting like a kid, Ikuto.

Amu: *is eating strawberry pocky* Leave him be.

Utau: *joins Amu* For once, I completely agree.

Ikuto: *sniffles* I can't live like this, so please review.

* * *

Okay, I **really** want to write in Ikuto's POV, but I don't know what I can do to make it not be OOC. Can you please give me some suggestions?

Thank you! ~AwkwardAuthor25


	7. Chapter 7

Oops! I posted the second chapter again instead of this! Thank you to cuppycakelol for pointing that out! And also thanks to amuto2004 who reviewed.

* * *

Me: I can't believe I'm updating this again already. I think I'm going to run clean out of ideas. But thank you to Amutofangirl Nr.1 and Anime in Love FOREVER for favoriting!

Amu: *sweatdrops* Well, it is nice to see you working hard...

Me: I'm supposed to be doing homework and I spent and hour typing this chapter!

Ikuto: *bursts into the room* Nechigo~

Me: *turns to him with glaring eyes* SHHHH!

Ikuto: Fine then. The author doesn't own anything.

Amu: Except for her computer and plot. Maybe minus the computer.

* * *

Chapter 7

Kukai's POV

I didn't have a say in anything that happened in the next 10 minutes or so as I was basically dragged by the hand through a network of streets and subways with anyone from a 80-year-old grandma to a 5-year-old taking pictures of Utau dragging me by the hand to some place. She won't literally sue me for that, will she? Anyway, we reached our destination a little while later. It was some somewhat worn-out, old building with walls that had faded color.

"Um….Dragging us to a creepy place that looks like it's going to collapse any moment is nice and all, but can you at tell us why we're here, Utau?" Hinamori stuttered. I laughed and playfully rolled my eyes.

"Hinamori, you always exaggerate everything. It doesn't look **that** old." I said. I quietly snickered to myself as I watched Mashiro creep up behind Hinamori. She stood up on her toes and put her mouth close to Hinamori's ear.

"...Whoo."

"EEEEEKKKKK!" Hinamori screamed and clutched Hoshina's "brother", who just smirked at that scene. About five second passed before she realized what she was doing and leapt off of the cat-like, lanky older boy. "D-don't take that the wrong way! I still don't know who you are!" Hinamori huffed and turned her head the other way, cheeks flushed dark red.

"Ano….can I please explain what this place is now?" Hoshina asked.

"Can the hentai cosplay nekomimi introduce himself first? It's really kind of disturbing how he knows everything about me but I know absolutely nothing about him." Hinamori stated matter-of-factly. Hoshina sighed and gestured at the guy to introduce himself.

"Trying to play it smooth and get to know me better, are you." he teased Hinamori. I snickered and Hoshina elbowed me in the ribs. 'Ow! What?' I mouthed at her. 'Shush!' she mouthed back. 'Fine then.'

"Am not!" she protested.

"Sure, whatever. I'm Tsukiyomi Ikuto, Utau's older brother. I play the violin for a hobby sometimes. And don't call me 'Hentai cosplay nekomimi. It's cruel, Amu-koi~." he drawled. I laughed really hard as I watched Hinamori freeze and get goosebumps. She jumped to face him with her fists clenched and screamed,

"I told you not to call me that!" Poor Mashiro, who was next to Hinamori, winced and covered her ears. Poor girl. Hoshina just calmly stood there and asked,

" **Now** may I explain?" Hinamori whipped around and threw on a smile.

"Ah! Please go ahead." Hoshina sighed and shook her head before continuing.

"This was the first place where I set up a studio. It was where all my dreams and songs started. A lot of time and energy was spent here. It's basically my second home."

"Well, isn't that nice and cheesy." I muttered jokingly. She jabbed me in the ribs. "Ow! What? I was **joking**!" Hinamori burst out laughing and the guy named Ikuto smiled. Wait, if he's Hoshina's older brother, then how come his last name is Tsukiyomi? Maybe I'll ask him later.

Ikuto's POV

A smile somehow found its way through all the clouds to my face as I watched Amu laugh. The smile quickly evaporated though, and I went back to stressing over the fact that Amu couldn't remember me. Of course, I'd left a year or two before Utau had, looking for our father whom I had no memory of. I could still remember the day I left.

*Flashback brought to you by: Catnip (Cuz why not?)*

I weaved through the crowd in the airport as calmly as possible, trying to get to my flight like everyone else there was.

"Onii-chan~!" Utau yelled as she waved me over, surrounded by her fans. I snickered a bit as she disappeared for a moment, drowning in a sea of fans. Literally. I just remained standing there, and before long, Utau was standing next to me, gripping a blushing Amu tightly by the hand. I smirked.

"Couldn't bear to see me go off without seeing me one last time, could you Amu-koi?" I teased.

"I-it's not like that! Utau just dragged me here!" Utau gave her a look and looked back at me. I exchanged glances with Utau before replying,

"Sure, Amu-koi." she pouted and glanced away. However, before long, she was staring at me again, eye slightly watery. I frowned at this.

"Y-you really are coming back, right?" she asked timidly, fiddling with her fingers and looking down at the ground. For the first time when I was actually talking to her, I bent down and tilted her chin up to look at me.

"Of course I am. A prince wouldn't abandon his princess would he?" I said seriously. I watched as her face grew red and she pushed me away, wiping away her tears.

"Stop that."

"What?"

"Teasing me." I sighed. She still doesn't believe me. It felt as if another weight was being put on my shoulders. This is the punishment I get for teasing her all the time. She doesn't believe me when I work up the courage to confess. Well, I'll just have to keep trying until she believes me.

"If you're so apprehensive about it, we can seal the promise." she raised an eyebrow.

"With what?" I smirked.

"With a kiss." her face turned even redder.

"What-" she was cut off as I leaned really close to her. She squeezed her eyes shut and I slowly planted a kiss. On the side of her lips. All the people around stopped to watch. I waited. 1….2….3.

"Ikuto! Stop teasing me like that!" Amu yelled, waving her arms around. All the adults around us laughed.

"Look at what you've done now. You drew everyone's attention." I said coolly, smirking.

"Wha- Now you're blaming this on **me**?! It's **your** faul-" she stopped talking as I placed my hand on her head.

"Do me a favor and grow a little bit the next time you see me, alright?" I teased. Then I turned to Utau and let Amu fume. "Take care." I said.

"Okay, onii-chan. Call me if you find dad."

"Of course." I started walking toward the gate.

"Ikuto!" I turned back to see Amu waving at me. "Come back home safe!" I smiled and turned around to resume walking. Then raised my right hand and waved it, signaling that I had heard her.

*End Flashback*

That had happened a mere 3 years ago, so why was this happening now? I was jolted out of my thoughts as I saw Amu plunge into a hole in between the wooden floorboards of the building. I caught her by the hand and a sudden recognition seemed to pass through her eyes. Did she remember something? I quickly pulled her up through the floorboards to avoid falling and let her stand on the floor.

"Iku….to…." she mused quietly. My eyes widened. "Ikuto?" she said again, looking up at me. "Ikuto!" she yelled, as if she were recognizing me at last. Everyone's eyes were wide as the three pairs of eyes all stared at us.

* * *

Me: Soooo...what do you think?

Ikuto: I love it.

Amu: I don't.

Me: Well this chapter was basically to discover the "serious" side of Ikuto, so...

Utau: I'd say you did pretty well.

Me: Well, I wonder what the readers would think about it...

Utau: You hear what she said? She asking for a review. So please do.

Me: Don't just say it like that!

* * *

I think its safe to say that I died today. There's this stupid game that kids at my school play called Oreo, and if you lose rock paper scissors to someone, you have to ask the person they say, out. So of course, I lost. (like a boss) And I had to ask my crush out. It was so embarrassing! My friend basically had to shove me over. So yeah, that happened.


	8. Chapter 8

Me: I did it! I wrote this chapter in a day!

Amu: Congratulations! If you wanna go back to the part where I **don't** remember Ikuto, there's still time!

Ikuto: Please don't.

Me: *ignores the two* So, Utau, Kukai, what do you think about your second ramen competition?

Utau & Kukai: *shrugs* Eh. We should have a real showdown.

Me: *brings out two bowls of ramen from nowhere*

Kukai: *rubs hands* Itadakimasu!

Utau: Kochi mo sou! But before we start, thanks to bowser3000000 for favoriting and following!

Rima: *pops head in* Nechigo doesn't own anything!

* * *

Chapter 8

Amu's POV

My eyes watered as I looked up at him. How could I have forgotten? Better question: **Why** did I forget? I was too happy to care about being teased.

"Ikuto, I missed you." I said as I hugged him tightly. He wrapped his own arms around me and buried his face in my hair, making me blush.

"I think I missed you more, Amu-koi. Especially since you didn't even remember me. That was really cruel, Amu-koi." I tore myself away from him and glared, blushing.

"I said don't call me that!" I said, eyes flashing dangerously. He chuckled.

"Or what?" he challenged.

"Or...or.. I don't know!" I huffed and turned around, my arms crossed. "Let's just keep going or something!" I heard Ikuto chuckle behind me.

"Don't fall into another hole." I stomped one foot and turned around slowly to face him. I smiled creepily.

"I'm not planning to, so just worry about yourself." he shrugged.

"Fine then. I'm not saving you if you fall into another hole." I huffed irritatedly.

"I **told** you, I'm not planning to fall into another hole!" I yelled as loud as possible directly next to his ear. I smirked in satisfaction as he covered his ears, wincing.

"You're cruel, Amu-koi." he mock-whined and I blushed.

"I told you not to call me that!" I said, crossing my arms.

"But, Amu-koi-" he winced in pain as I kicked him hard in the shin. I stared down at him with mock-coldness.

"I. Told. You. To. Stop." I said. He just nodded. Suddenly Utau burst out laughing. Then I started laughing too. Ikuto just glared with a mix of annoyance and contentment in his eyes. Sure, Ikuto was annoying, okay, _mildly irritating_ but it felt as though a seemingly bottomless pit in heart had finally been filled completely. Why, **how** did I forget him? This weird feeling that I got in my stomach every time I saw him? These questions nagged at the back of my head but I ignored them for the time being as we laughed and talked some more in a more relaxed manner. As we walked down the hallway, the lights started flickering. Then all at once, all of them completely shut off. An image of a wrecked and crashed train flashed through my mind as my body started trembling. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. An unsettling feeling came across me as I felt an otherworldly presence creep up behind me. (A/N: A.k.a *cough* Rima *cough cough*)

"...Whoo."

"KYYY AAAHHHHH!" I screamed and clutched, maybe practically tackled the person nearest to me which conveniently knocked us both to the ground.

"H-hoshina? W-what was that?" I heard Souma-senpai's voice echo nervously.

"Calm down, I think it was Amu. Let me find the light switch." A sound of someone fumbling their fingers on a wall was heard and the lights flickered on. I peeked one of my tightly shut eyes and almost laughed at the scene before me. Souma-senpai was clutching Utau's arm so tightly that it had turned white. I turned my head to see a smirking Rima. Which means the person I had just tackled was…. I lifted my head to see a smirking Ikuto under me.

"You just couldn't wait to get your hands on me, could you, A-mu-koi?" he drawled, emphasizing each syllable.

"Wha- It wasn't like that!" I yelled. Ugh, I was probably red by now.

"If that's so, why don't you stop squeezing my waist like it's a lifesaver?" I looked up and gave him a death glare.

A few short minutes later, the five of walked out of the old building. Utau was sweat dropping, Souma-senpai was trying to hold in his laughter, Rima was giggling, I was smirking with satisfaction, and Ikuto was pouting while rubbing his cheek, which had my hand-print on it.

"...Oh shoot! I forgot to call my mom!" I burst out, fully panicking. I turned to face the rest of the group. "I have to go. **Now.** " I said, my eyes darting around in a nervous frenzy. Rima looked seriously scared for me. She'd heard my mom yell once over the phone….Let's just say it didn't turn out too well for me when my mom realized I was on the phone. Utau smiled.

"There's no need to do that!" I looked at her, confused. "I contacted your mom way earlier and told her."

"When?!" she looked at her perfect nails.

"When I realized you two were staking out our date." Souma-senpai grinned.

"So, you do take this as a date then, Hoshina?" he teased. A few seconds later, Utau was a little calmer and there was a bump on Souma-senpai's head. I sighed and shook my head, smiling.

"So, what did you say to her?" I asked.

"That I'd get get you home at 5:30." I froze.

"What time is it?" I asked warily. Utau glanced at her watch and shrugged.

"5:35-ish?" I panicked again.

"Utau! You suck!" I yelled as I bolted in the direction of my house.

"Love you too!" she sang in pure delight of my panic. I ran as fast as I possibly could and got to my house just as the clock clicked 5:43. I gulped and slowly put the key inside the keyhole and opened the door.

"I'm home…." I said, my voice getting smaller by the millisecond.

"Amu?" I heard my mom say. I gulped again.

"Yes?"

"Oh, so it is you! Honey, why are you home so early? Utau said 6 or so." my eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh no, we just finished our activities a little quickly." I said, laughing creepily. "I'm going to go and change."

"Sure honey, take your time." I walked slowly up the stairs and into my room, which had nearly sound-proof walls from the insulation put in it. I took out my phone and dialed the contact that read, "Onee-chan".

Utau's POV

I giggled as a very panicked Amu ran towards her house.

"Well," said Ikuto, yawning. "My work here is done. I'm going off to the park to find a nice tree to nap in, alright?" I just waved him off as he walked away, yawning again. Rima glanced down at her phone.

"Well, I think I've got to go now. My parents want me to come home." she sighed. I looked down at the petite girl and rubbed her shoulders sympathetically.

"It's okay. Call me when you're past the war zone. Even better, we can Skype with Amu, alright? It'll help take your mind off of….trivial matters. She smiled and nodded, rubbing the corners of her eyes even though there were no tears.

"Well then, thank you." she hugged me and walked towards her house. I sighed and took a deep breath.

"So Souma….What do you say, wanna go for round 2?" he grinned in his childish manner as he gave me a thumbs-up.

"Challenge accepted!" Just then, my phone rang. I took it out and smirked at the caller ID. It read, "Mumu-chi".

"Oh, this is going to be good." I muttered and answered the call. "Hello?" I said in the most innocent voice I could possibly muster.

"Utau!" I held the small cellular device away from my ear for a second. "How could you! You're no better than Ikuto!" she shrieked.

" _Amu-chan, Ikuto-kun came back from France?"_ Amu's mom's voice echoed in the background. Wait, so….her mom didn't know Amu had lost all memories of Ikuto?

"Um….yeah!" Amu shouted distantly.

" _That's nice, we should invite him over for dinner!"_ I giggled. I could practically **see** Amu blushing over the phone.

"Maybe later, not today!" Amu yelled. Her mom 'hmm'ed in response. She sighed as she came back to me. "Anyway, I just called you to say, you suck Utau!" I could picture her sticking her tongue out.

"Sure, sure, you love me, I know." I smirked.

"Whatever, I'm hanging up." and the line went dead. I put the phone in my pocket and turned to see a grinning Kukai.

"So, what were we saying about that 2nd round?" I asked. A few minutes later we found ourselves in front of another ramen shop. We walked in and took a seat.

"Two supersized ramen bowls with full toppings please!"

"Three, two, one, GO! A crowd gathered around us as we started eating (A/N: More like inhaling) our ramen. About three minutes later, just as I was eating the last bite, Kukai slammed his chopsticks on the table. I groaned as Kukai yelled,

"Yes! I won!" the crowd around us cheered.

"Fine, what's your wish?" I grumbled like a little kid. He grinned at me and tilted his head. "Well?" I said impatiently, pouting at the same time.

"Let's do this again some time!" he said energetically. I smiled at the unexpected wish and shook my head, laughing a little bit. "I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

Utau: I still can't believe Souma would beat me in a ramen-eating competition.

Me: Well too bad, he just did. In the fanfic, anyway.

Utau: That's what I'm saying! I just beat him right now.

Kukai: Did not! You started earlier, Hoshina!

Utau: Fine, let's go round two, Souma!

Utau & Kukai: *dashes off to some random place*

Nagi: *is yawning in the corner* When do I come out again?

Me: Good question.

Nagi: *sweatdrops* Please review so that I could appear again in the main plot!

Me: *dramatic pose* His fate lies in your hands!

Ikuto: *sitting on floor* Just so, the readers have been decreasing with each chapter.

Me & Nagi: *crying* Review?


	9. Chapter 9

Me: Hello! It's me again! With another chapter. Oh-ho-ho-ho! *sigh* What am I doing with my life?

Ikuto: *reading manga, laying on his side* I don't know... Do you even have one?

Me: Hey!

Ikuto: *ignores*

Me: Fine then! Amu! I want to tell about something that Ikuto did the other-

Ikuto: *covers my mouth* Shh!

Amu: What?

Ikuto: *says really quickly* The stupid author doesn't own anything but the OC!

Me: *bites hand* I'm **not** stupid!

Ikuto: *rolls eyes* You don't know how Skype works though.

Me: Whatever! I covered it up! *sticks tongue out*

Amu: Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 9

Amu's POV

I hung up on the phone and sighed. Today was just a tiring day overall. From remembering Ikuto to running home as fast as humanly possible for the average 14-almost-15 year old girl.

"Amu-chan! It's time for dinner!" My mom yelled. I opened the door and ran down the stairs. I sat down.

"Itadakimasu!" Ami and I said simultaneously and dug in. Today dinner was….my dad's favorite: omelets. (A/N: Raise your hand if you remember this episode!)

"Mommy, you're really the bestest cook in the world!" my dad said happily.

"Daddy's so kind!" mom said. Ami and I exchanged glances.

"Daddy! 'bestest' isn't a word!" Ami giggled. Dad was overcome with shock by the fact that his "little angel" was growing up so fast. I sighed and put my hand under my chin, trying to look bored by stabbing my omelet with my fork.

"Um, mom, was there a time in the last 3 three years that something happened to me that, you know, might have injured my head?" I asked, trying to sound casual. My parents exchanged glances.

"Why Amu-chan? Is something wrong?" mom asked. I sighed. Of course they wouldn't tell me if was something that might've traumatized me so severely that it made me forget it and everything that happened 5 to 6 months before it. That explained why I basically had no memory of Ikuto. There was just a huge blank space that had been filled mostly less than six hours ago.

"No reason in particular." I finally answered grudgingly. They exchanged glances again. "Thank you for the meal." I said, getting up. "I'm going upstairs." I started walking towards the staircase.

"Amu-chan?" mom asked quietly.

"Hmm?" I looked back. She smiled at me. "Sorry for not answering your question." I smiled back.

"It's fine, it was just something I read from a book that made me wonder about it." I lied smoothly.

"Oh I see." mom sounded relieved at that, so I stuck to it. I went upstairs and shut my door. I flopped down onto my bed. ' _Just what the heck happened?'_ I repeated over and over again in my mind until a knock came from my balcony window. I lifted my head to look through it. Ikuto stood there, waving at me. My eyes widened. I ran to the rather huge sliding door and opened it. Ikuto walked into the room.

"What the heck are you doing here?!" I hissed loudly at him. He yawned loudly and stretched, not answering me. I rolled my eyes. "Well? If you don't say anything, I'm shoving you out and off of the balcony!" I said, seriously irritated (A/N: more like flustered!) by the fact that Ikuto was just standing there, leaving my balcony door wide open.

"But Amu-koi, I got locked out of the house because the cleaning lady closed and locked the window I left open and went home for the night and Utau's room is soundproof!" Ikuto whined, walking up to me and hugging my waist. Heat flooded up to my cheeks.

"B-baka! That's your fault! What do you want me to do about it?" I yelled and tore him off of me, turning around and crossing my arms.

"But Amu-koi~" he whined. Suddenly, a ring came from my computer. The screen read, "' _Onee-chan' and 'Rima-chi' want to Skype with you._ " I smiled and sat down on my bed. I clicked the button that read ' _Accept'_.

"Hey guys." Rima said first. I could hear distant yelling and a loud crash. I inwardly winced but smiled on the outside.

"Hey Rima, Utau!" I said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

"Hey, I know! Why don't we play a game? It's called...truth or dare!" Utau yelled. Rima and I simultaneously sweat-dropped.

"I'm okay with it if Amu's okay with it." Rima said, shrugging. Both Rima and Utau turned their gazes toward me.

"Sure….I don't see why no-" I was cut off as Ikuto glomped me from behind. ' _Oh crap! I forgot_ _ **he**_ _was here!'_ I thought.

"Count me in, as long as Amu-koi is playing." Ikuto said, yawning.

"..."

"..."

"Onii-chan?! What in the world are you doing in Amu's room?!" Utau screeched at Ikuto, who just smirked at her.

"That's because the cleaning lady locked me out!" Ikuto whined.

"What do you have a cellphone for, idiot?!" Utau yelled.

"Well **this** isn't good." I muttered under my breath.

"If you do something weird to Amu, I swear…." Rima said creepily. Utau nodded in agreement. I blushed.

"It's not like that!" I yelled.

"Amu-chan?" my mom called from downstairs.

"Yes mom?" I panicked and replied a little too quickly.

"Your father and I decided to take Ami to the forest tomorrow to help her gather beetles for her science homework. Would you like to come?" I hesitated. "Or if you have homework to work on, it's fine if you don't want to."

"I'm sorry, I have a little homework." I said guiltily.

"It's fine honey. We'll be leaving really early tomorrow morning, so don't wake up to see us off!"

"Oh, ok." I shouted down. I sighed. "That was close." I looked to Utau and Rima, who were both trying to stop laughing. "It's not funny!" I yelled. "Utau, come drag Ikuto out of my house or something!" I whisper-yelled, just in case my parents were nearby. I looked at her desperately.

"Hm...What about no?" Utau said, smirking.

"Wha- how come?" I whined.

"Juuuust because."

"Fine then. Goodnight both of you." I said and yawned. I clicked the button that read, ' _End Call'_. I sat up and glared at Ikuto. " **You** are sleeping on the floor tonight, mister."

"What if I refuse to?" he asked, backing me up against the wall, trapping me on both sides with his arms. I blushed.

"S-so what if you refuse to? I'll just do this." I said and kicked him in the chest. He rolled off backwards and hit the floor.

"Ow…." I smirked.

"Amu-chan?" my mom said, coming upstairs. I jumped into the covers and Ikuto followed suit. Without time to yell at him, I shut off the lights. I held my breath as she poked her head in. "She must be sleeping." I silently watched as my dad came upstairs and placed his hand on her shoulder

"Shouldn't we have told her about the accident two and a half years ago?" he asked seriously. I listened confusedly. ' _Accident? What accident?'_

"I know, but she doesn't need to remember if she wants to forget." mom sighed as she walked out and closed the door. I quickly shoved Ikuto off of the bed and lied down, thinking. ' _Just what the hell happened to me?'_ I thought as I fell asleep slightly.

 _I opened my eyes. 'I'm…. dreaming?' I looked down at my hands. 'I feel weird and floaty somehow…' I looked around, confused. I was sitting in a subway, and hushed whispers attacked my ears from all around me. It felt normal, like the life I was used to. Suddenly, all the lights in the train blinked and went out. I heard a sickening creak._

" _W-what's going on?" a voice shouted._

" _Yeah, what kind of joke is this?"_

" _I need to get to work quickly!" Many voices of protest rose up and the train lurched forward and crashed into a wall of debris. I clutched a pole in an effort not to fall. The impact nearly dislocated my shoulder and I winced in pain. 'What_ _ **is**_ _this? It's a dream, but it feels so realistic!' many people screamed and there was silence. I staggered and walked to the closed door. Well, it was supposed to be closed. Instead, it was wide open. I staggered out and squinted. There was still some light left from the lights in the tunnel itself._

" _Mommy, help…. I'm scared. Mommy! Mommy, please wake up!" I heard a child's voice pleading. I walked over, clutching my shoulder. She turned to me. "Onee-chan, help me. I'm scared." she shouted, crawling over to me and hugging my knees. I gently pried her hands off and knelt down to look her in the eye. I just let the dream control me and I said,_

" _Don't worry, the policemen will be here soon and they'll help your mom. Until then, stay with me, okay?" I felt guilt from all the way down in my stomach because I was lying to her, but I tried to smile. The little child's eyes filled with tears and she hugged me tightly._

" _We'll get out of here, right Onee-chan?" she asked, voice trembling. I hugged her back with one arm._

" _Yes, we will." I replied. 'That's right, I need to stay strong and see Ikuto again!' I felt myself think and felt heat rush to my cheeks. I heard some other people getting up and out. I walked outside, hand-in-hand with the little girl. There were 7 survivors. Including me and the little girl. They were all about my age. One adult. 2 boys, 2 girls, and a woman. I walked up to the woman. "I'm sorry to pester you in this dire situation, but do you have a cellphone?" the woman looked confused for a second._

" _Oh yes!" she said, snapping out of her daze. I sighed in relief._

" _In that case, would you be kind enough to contact the police?" I asked. She nodded and called the police. Thankfully the tunnel had a signal. She hung up and looked at me hopefully._

" _They say they are already working on it and that it'll take about 8 hours to clear it up." I bowed._

" _Thank you. Thank you so much." The 4 kids who looked about my age were talking to each other. I turned to face them. "Oi, why don't all of you come join us here?" they turned to us. One of the boys turned to look at his friends and looked back at me._

" _Why should we listen to_ _ **you**_ _?" he said, sneering. The woman glared at him._

" _It's fine with me if want to_ _ **die**_ _, but I suggest you don't. It's bad for your health." I snapped back as sarcastically as possible. I turned back around and scoffed to see the little kid looking at me. I kneeled down. "Sorry if I scared you there." she looked up at me and shook her head, beaming._

" _Onee-chan kakkoii!" she said and I smiled._

" _Thank you. What's your name?"_

" _It's Akira!" she said cutely._

" _Well then, Akira-chan! We'll get you out of here, okay?" she looked down at her feet and shuffled them a little bit._

" _You promise?"_

" _I promise."_

* * *

Me: I've got the next chapter done but I'm not going to put it in...just because.

Amu: I've somehow got a bad feeling about this.

Ikuto: I'm not going to be in the next chapter either, am I?

Me: I don't know! *sticks tongue out*

Ikuto: Ugh. I've had it with you, you spontaneous kid!

Me: Whatever, old grandpa! *runs away*

Ikuto: *chases after me*

Amu: *sweatdrop* Please review...

* * *

(For those of you that don't know, 'kakkoii' means "cool" in Japanese.)


	10. Chapter 10

Me: It's me with the chapter that was done like two days before!

Amu: *grumbling* You could've stopped updating, but noooo...

Me: Well I'm glad people like this and all, but it was supposed to be a bright story and now it's like-

Ikuto & Amu: Like what?

Me: So **depressing**! This chapter in particular! I'm just like, 'Why did it turn out this way?!" *keeps ranting*

Ikuto: *sweatdrop* Well, on our author's *cough* crazy kid's *cough* behalf, we thank cuppycakelol for all the support and Upball12345 whom we think is a guest!

Amu: *reads chapter* What- wha- *turns to look at me* Why?

Me: I know right?!

Amu: What do you mean, "I know right?!"? **You** wrote it!

Me: *sobbing on the floor*

Amu: She obviously doesn't own anything...except Akira-chan *sniffle*

* * *

Chapter 10

Amu's POV

" _ **Well then, Akira-chan! We'll get you out of here, okay?" she looked down at her feet and shuffled them a little bit.**_

" _ **You promise?"**_

" _ **I promise."**_

" _Well then, do you want to do something before we finally get our of here? We've still got about 7 hours!" I said, looking down at a watch I never knew I had._

" _Hmm…." the little girl tapped her chin thoughtfully. She suddenly beamed as though she'd had a great idea. "I know! Let's explore the tunnel, onee-chan!" she said, twirling around and giggling, delighted at the idea of looking around a bunch of rocks. Her mother…._

" _Okay." I replied a little guiltily. I took her hand and we walked around._

" _Ooh! That one's shaped like a bird!" she said excitedly, pointing to a rock._

" _Oh! Really, it is!" I said, just as excited. I felt myself growing emotionally attached to the kid. "Look, Akira-chan! That one's shaped like a heart!" I pointed to a small heart-shaped rock. She smiled._

" _Do you think I can keep it?" I looked down at her, smiling._

" _I don't see why not!" I said, walking over and picking it up. I turned around and handed it to her. I watched as she stared at it in awe._

" _It's so pretty~!" she said, looking at it from every angle possible. I could feel it. Something was crumbling away. I needed to stay strong for this girl. The least I could do for her was to give her a few good memories….before she had to be thrown in the orphanage. I could tell, this girl had never had a father. The way she didn't mention that she didn't want to see anyone else, she had no other living relatives. I looked down at my watch. 'We have about an hour.' I thought sadly. 'And then I'll have to let Akira-chan go to the police, won't I?'_

" _Akira-chan, what about we look around a little longer before we have to go back?" I asked her._

" _Aww, how much more time do we have?" she asked, pouting. I patted her on the head, smiling. 'A little more time, just a little more.'_

" _Just enough time to explore one more place that you want!" I said._

" _Let's go look inside the train!" I gulped._

" _Okay, Akira-chan, but don't get scared!" I said, trying to sound confident. She nodded._

" _Hai, onee-chan!" she said and grinned a wide smile at me. We walked, hand-in-hand, toward the wreck that was once a train. We stepped inside. I wrinkled my nose. 'It smells like rotting corpses.' Akira wrinkled her nose as well. "What's that smell, onee-chan?"_

" _Oh, look Akira-chan! It's about time the policemen got through the debris!" I cried, looking down at my watch, desperate to change the subject and not answering her question on purpose. Akira didn't say anything. "Akira-chan?" I asked._

" _Ano….onee-chan, what's a debris?" I looked at her._

" _It's something leftover from something breaking." I said gently, kneeling down to face her. "Akira-chan, do you go to school?" she looked at me confusedly, tilting her head to the side._

" _What's a scoo?" she asked. I stared at her in shock before explaining._

" _It's a place where you'll meet a lot of kids your age, learn things, and make friends!" I said, smiling._

" _...Friends?" she asked._

" _Uh-huh!" I nodded._

" _That sounds fun!" she said, smiling brightly. My heart broke._

" _Hey, once we get out of here, what about I take you to a school?" I asked._

" _Really?" she asked, eyes sparkling._

" _Really. Now, let's head back!" I said, picking her up and running. We got to the place where the train was quickly. I set the girl down. The woman called out to me._

" _The police are here, as well as the ambulance and firefighters!" I sighed in relief. I walked towards the lady._

" _Are they just about-" a sickening '_ _ **crack**_ ' _came from the 'ceiling'. I looked up. A huge chunk of it was falling. Right over Akira. My eyes widened. Akira-chan!" I yelled. "Step away!" the world seemed to slow down as she looked at me, then followed my panicked eyes to the chunk of cement falling towards her. I reached out towards her. Her eyes were filled with sadness, as if she understood what was happening. Even though she was a child._

" _Onee-chan," she said, her voice trembling. "onee-chan, don't come here. You'll get crushed too."_

" _But Akira-chan, you-" she shook her head._

" _Onee-chan, arigato. If the world grants- if Kami-sama grants us to see each other again, don't forget to show me a school." she said, smiling as a single tear ran down her cheek. Those were her last words, as the cement block crushed her and blood splatted onto my stretched out hand._

" _Akira-chan!" I screamed, clutching my hand. The lady was gasping, a hand covering her mouth. I glanced at the blood on my hand and covered my mouth with the other to keep myself from throwing up. I collapsed onto my knees. Tears ran down my cheek and the world began to grow hazy as my eyes started to close. I couldn't keep my eyes open, my eyelids felt like weights. They slipped closed._

 _I blinked my eyes. I found myself in a hospital, both of my parents leaning over me._

" _Amu-chan, you're awake!" both of my parents cried, hugging me. My left shoulder was in a brace. "Ami-chan, your onee-chan's awake!" I flinched at the word. Ami rubbed her eyes and sat up, waking up from a nap. It was bright outside. She looked at me, and her eyes started to water._

" _Onee-chan!" she said, crying. She ran up to the side of my bed. "I'm so glad you're safe!" she said, laughing and crying at the same time. For a moment, I saw Akira-chan in her last moments, smiling yet crying. My shoulders started shaking as I looked up at my parents._

" _Mom, dad, Ami. You should go home. I'm tired, and all I've been doing all day is sleeping, so you must be too. Thank you for watching over me." I said, voice trembling._

" _But Amu-chan-" my dad started, but mom cut him off, giving him a look and shaking her head. She turned toward me._

" _Sure thing, Amu-chan. Just tell the nurse to call us if you need us." she stood up and lead dad towards the door. Ami sat there, looking at me. Akira's image flashed over her again. She opened her mouth to speak, but mom started talking. "Ami-chan, onee-chan's tired, you can talk to her later, okay?" mom prodded gently. Ami nodded and got up, following mom and dad out of the room, but not before glancing over at me. As soon as the door shut, tears started dripping down my cheeks. 'You let her die! You are no different from a murderer. You have no right to love or be loved. You killed a child!' These words flashed through my head and I covered my ears in an attempt to stop them._

" _...Stop it. Stop it. Please stop!" I pleaded quietly. 'Forget everything, everyone, that loves you. No, forget the person that left not long ago. He was precious to you, so let him go before you harm him like the girl.' "Ikuto?" 'Yes, him. Forget him. You don't deserve to love him.' "Forget him…" my eyes glazed over. 'I'll forget him. I want to forget.' I tried to persuade myself. 'But….Bring Akira back. Bring her back! I made so many promises to her!' I turned over in the small hospital bed and yelled into the pillow as loud as I could._ " _ **Bring her back!"**_

"-mu! Amu, Amu! Wake up!" I felt someone shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes and everything was blurry. I barely made out a splotch of navy blue hair.

"Iku- Ikuto!" I hiccuped. I hugged him tightly, realizing that my cheeks were covered in my own tears. I kept crying. He seemed alarmed at this.

"Amu, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly. I pulled back and gripped his shoulders.

"Ikuto...I killed an innocent child!" I hiccuped again. "I- I **let** her be crushed by the concrete. I let her die! And then I faced it by running away from it! I forgot about it, and lived my life happily!" I cried into his shoulder, collapsing into his embrace. A part of me was afraid of him pushing me away and calling me a murderer. Yet another part of me wished he would tell me just gently to let go of him and ask me what had happened. But he did neither of these things. Instead, he looked at me seriously in the eye and kissed me.

* * *

Amu: Why is it so depressing?!

Me: At least the ending was okay...

Amu: *tears in eyes* The ending made it **more** depressing!

Ikuto: Amu-koi~ That's cruel! *hugs Amu*

Amu: Get off me, hentai cosplay nekomimi!

Me: *still crying*

Amu: Please review to see what happens next... *sigh*

Ikuto: *hugs Amu again*

Amu: I told you to **get off!**


	11. Chapter 11

Me: *crying tears of joy*

Ikuto & Amu: *staring*

Ikuto: What's wrong with the kid?

Amu: Good question.

Utau: She's too happy. Apparently she's never gotten 3 reviews for one chapter at basically the same time.

Rima: *scoffs* She pathetic.

Me: *glares* I heard that! Anyways, thank you to cuppycakelol (as always)and PixieChangling16 for the reviews! And a special thank you to ttrevina for the favorite, follow, **and** review!

Rima: Oh, by the way, she doesn't own anything. At all.

Me: I own the plot!

* * *

Chapter 11

Ikuto's POV

I didn't know how to respond to Amu's cries, her hurt. I couldn't do anything to help her, except be there for her. I just leaned in and kissed her. I waited for her to do something, push me away, yell at me, kick me off of the bed, even **hit** me for goodness sake! If she was going to break down like this, then it might've been better for her to not remember anything. I felt her tears on my own cheeks as she kissed back, putting all of her hurt emotions into the kiss. I pulled away and looked at her as she blushed and cried at the same time.

"Amu. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but...I know it wasn't your fault." I said quietly, looking at her.

"B-but I left her there! I let Akira-"

"Shhh…." I shushed her, putting a finger over her lips. "I'm sure Akira-chan wouldn't want you to be like this right now." Amu backed away and asked me.

"How would you know?" she asked not spitefully, but bitterly.

"Because, you're alive right now, right? She told you that she didn't want you to die, right?"

"S-she wanted me to take her to a school." Amu said, her breathing uneven. "She told me that if Kami-sama allowed it, that we would see each other again." Amu said, calming down slightly.

"So I'm sure Kami-sama would hear both of your wishes." I comforted. "But…" I paused before continuing. "If you really hurt inside, if you're going to spend your nights crying because of this, I'd rather you forget me and be free of that pain than have to be forced to suffer it." I gulped. I knew I was taking a huge risk, but if this was what made Amu happy, I would go through it over and over again.

"...No." Amu replied firmly. I looked at her, surprised. "I'm through with running. I can't keep convincing myself nothing happened. Besides," Amu looked at me, smiling. "I just found you. I can't let you go again." I smirked. "On second thought, maybe I could!" she said, sticking her tongue out. I pouted childishly but smiled and shook my head.

"I won't prod about the incident, so you don't have to mention it if it hurts." I said gently. "Hey, I have a good idea….Why don't we go on a triple-date with the crossdresser and shrimp and Utau and her new 'boyfriend'?" I said, smirking. Amu glared at me.

"First, don't call my friends those weird names! Second, Utau's **not** dating Souma-senpai yet so stop stressing over it. And third, why a date?!" I shrugged.

"Just because." Amu huffed and looked away, crossing her arms.

"Fine then. Under one condition: **you** have to tell them while **I** get ready. Oh yeah, what time is it?"

"8:00 AM. You woke up pretty early for a Sunday." I said. "I'm going downstairs to wait for you." I said, getting up and walking out of her room and closing the door. I looked back. "Oh yeah, I'll call them while I'm at it."

Amu's POV

I watched quietly as Ikuto closed the door behind him. He really **had** changed over the past three years. I smiled fondly. I stood up quickly and balled my hands into fists. I decided, I'm going to live for him, for my family and friends. For the day, the day that I would meet Akira-chan once again. I got up and dressed….in the outfit I was in two-and-a-half years ago when the accident happened. The only thing different was, I felt something in the pocket of the jacket. I took it out. It was the heart-shaped stone that Akira had adored so much. My eyes filled with tears and I smiled, remembering her clearly. I looked up towards the ceiling.

"Thank you." I said quietly, tears filling my eyes. I quickly rubbed the tears away and put the stone on my dresser. I changed out of the outfit and back into my pajamas and walked to the bathroom took a quick shower, washed my face and brushed my teeth. I dried my face off with a towel and got the hair dryer out. After drying my hair, I wrapped a towel around my torso and walked back to my room. I walked in and closed the door. I started changing. I put a tank top over my underwear and very short shorts to wear under my skirt. I was picking out my clothes and Ikuto just **walked in** talking on the phone. I instantly froze, as did he when he saw me.

"Oh this isn't good." Ikuto muttered under his breath, never breaking eye contact with me. I could basically see the other straining their ears to hear over the phone. A dark aura started forming around me.

" **Damn straight** this isn't good! Get the heck out of my room, you hentai cosplay nekomimi!" I screamed and threw a pillow at his face.

"Alright, alright, alright I'm going!" he said as I kept throwing pillows at him. (A/N: Just **how many** pillows do you have, Amu? (- o -') ) I sighed in relief as the door shut behind him. I quickly got dressed into a black miniskirt and a aqua-blue crop top without shoulders that read, ' _Don't like me? Deal with it.'_ I picked up all the pillows and arranged them back on my bed before opening the door and walking downstairs. Ikuto turned to look at me. I huffed and turned my head to the side as I crossed my arms about halfway down.

"What? You're not coming down the rest of the way?" Ikuto asked, smirking. "Do you want me to pick you up and apologize, princess?" I uncrossed my arms and brought them to my sides quickly and stiffly.

"As if! You wish, idiot!" I yelled and stuck my tongue out. I kept walking down the stairs. And of all the days I chose to miss a step, today was one of them. I fell forward and watched with widened eyes as the floor came closer and closer to my face- before Ikuto caught me. He caught me into what looked like a normal embrace. I looked up at him, glaring.

"What were you saying about not wanting to be saved, _princess_?" Ikuto said, smirking but looking more relieved than smug. I looked up defiantly and kneed him in the place where the sun doesn't shine. Just hard enough to make him be in agony for the next few minutes. He hissed like a cat, stepping back. I huffed and stomped down the rest of the stairs rather pointedly. He glared at me.

"That was for all the teasing you did before you left. **And** for barging into someone else's room." I said, walking into the kitchen. "So, what time?" I asked, changing the subject.

"We agreed on 12:00 for lunch, coffee and tea, and then a movie." he said casually. I nodded. ' _Okay, that leaves us_ _ **just enough**_ _time for a late breakfast and then a couple minutes of rest.'_ I thought, glancing at the clock. It was 8:45. I sighed.

"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked.

"Pancakes." he said flatly. I laughed. "What?"

"It's just kind of funny how seriously you say pancakes." I said, putting on an apron. He gave me a look. "What, you don't **want** pancakes, Ikuto?" I asked, looking back at him.

"No, carry on…" he said and sat down at the dining table. I huffed and tied my about shoulder-length pink hair back. I quickly got out all the ingredients. I smiled to myself. I went back to the fridge and brought out blueberries and strawberries. I looked back.

"How many do you want?" I asked, smiling.

"It doesn't matter, really." he said, his right hand under his chin and a fond smile on his face. "So, it doesn't seem like you're not to mad anymore." he observed.

"Wha- I **am**! I am mad!" I said, protesting.

"Then what's with the smile?" he asked slyly.

"I- uh, I don't know!" I yelled and turned back to the batter I was making. I quickly added all the necessary ingredients and added a special ingredient*. "Then I'm just making a random number and leaving the leftovers for my family." I muttered to particularly no one.

"Sounds good to me." Ikuto replied to my mutter, hugging me from behind. I blushed and stepped on his foot. "Ow! What was that for?!" he asked, hugging me tighter.

"Let go of me!" I struggled to get out of his grasp.

"Not until you do me a favor~." he cooed in my ear. I stopped struggling and all the heat in my body flooded to my cheeks.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to seem irritated instead of flustered.

"Hm...You have to kiss me on the cheek." he said, smirking down at me. I gave him a look.

"Let. Go." I said in a warning tone.

"Or what?" he challenged.

"Or….ugh fine!" I stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. "Happy?" I growled, coming back down onto the balls of my feet.

"Not really…" I glared at him. "Okay, okay, I'm **joking**!" he said, still clinging to my waist. I pinched his arm. "I'm letting go, okay!" I smirked in satisfaction as he let go. "Ow." he muttered, rubbing his arm.

"Now don't bother the chef." I said, turning back to the batter.

In just a couple of minutes, 10 pancakes were sitting on the table, all stacked nicely on a single plate. I wiped away a couple of droplets of sweat that weren't there.

"There are your pancakes." I said flatly, setting down two plates, maple syrup, whip cream, and the blueberries and strawberries. "Help yourself."

"Itadakimasu!" both of us said and dug in.

"Hey, these taste like-" I cut him off.

"That's because I made them taste like that." I said matter-of-factly.

"How'd you know I like this flavor?"

"Because you told me. A **long** time ago." he smirked at me.

"Oh-ho? So you remember everything I say, Amu-koi?" I turned a bright red.

"No!" He gave me a look. "What?" He gave me another look. "H-hurry up and eat already! I wanna take a look around the meeting place!" I said quickly and finished eating my pancake. I picked up a plate and walked to the sink. He quickly followed suit.

"There's no leftovers."

"Oh oka- Wait what?!" I yelled, giving him an incredulous look. "You ate **7** pancakes?"

"...Yes? Is that bad?"

"N-no not really." I quickly washed the dishes and put away everything else. "Okay, I'm going to go upstairs and grab a couple of things. Wait here, alright?" Without waiting for a reply, I dashed up the stairs and into my room. I don't want to admit it, but...I'm excited!

* * *

Me: That took me forever to get done! It was exhausting!

Ikuto: You just procrastinated.

Me: Shut up! You try writing a story! And no, that wasn't literal!

Ikuto: Fine then.

Me: But I'm worried that this chapter is too bright compared to the last one. I'm horrible at controlling things like this. *cries*

Ikuto & Utau: You really are.

Me: You're not supposed to agree with me!

Utau: *rolls eyes* Whatever.

Amu: Stop! All of you!

Rima: *flat tone* Please review.

* * *

* = try to guess what the flavor and/or ingredient in the pancakes is! (Hint: cone) I just gave a huge hint!

Ahhh! I am now officially scarred for life. I made the biggest mistake of my life: I watched Corpse Party. I wasn't able to sleep until I fell asleep listening to music! Thankfully, I didn't have any nightmares, but- *shudders* Oh, but I'm on break now, so I should be able to get an extra chapter or two done than usual! Please keep reading! It helps me a lot! Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12

Me: *sulking in the corner*

Amu: What's wrong with Nechigo-chan?

Ikuto: *reading manga* Oh, the kid? She's depressed because she couldn't get this chapter done quickly.

Me: *sniffle* I think I've got a Writer's Block

Ikuto: Your fault... *turns page*

Me: *growl* I know! But on a different note, thank you to cuppycakelol and PixieChangling16 who reviewed... *goes back to crying*

Amu: *awkward laugh* Well, Nechigo-chan doesn't own anything, or everything she owned would be on hiatus right now!

Me: *turns head* Shut up! I can still hear you, you know!

* * *

Chapter 12

Amu's POV

I rushed upstairs and grabbed my purse with everything already in it. It was a teal one shoulder with a gold chain-material shoulder strap. I smiled and twirled in front of the mirror.

"Alright then! Let's get going!" I said to myself. I walked out humming. I jumped onto the railing and slid down.

"Amu? What the heck are you doing?" Ikuto asked between fits of laughter. I jumped and landed on my feet.

"Having fun, **grandpa**." I said, sticking my tongue out and then pouting like a little kid. "Let's go!" I said, grabbing his hand. I practically dragged him out the front door and down the streets.

"Hey, who're you calling a grandpa?" he asked.

"You, idiot!" I replied, turning back and sticking my tongue out.

"Fine then, be that way." he muttered. He paused, letting my hand slip out of his. As I turned to look back at him, he smirked. "You fell for it." I looked at him confused and raising an eyebrow.

"What are you-" I was cut off as he picked me up bridal style. "I-Ikuto! Put me down!" I whisper-yelled as all the people in the crowd stared at us weirdly. A grandma glanced at us and chuckled.

"Ah, how nice it is to be young and in love." At this, my face went completely red. Ikuto just smirked again.

"How's it feel up there, **princess**?" All the middle-aged women and grandmas chuckled, the teenagers squealed, (A/N: Is that fangirling I hear?) kids made gagging noises, and I just kept blushing.

"Put me down!" I hissed.

"Hm? What's that?" he asked, leaning his head in closer. I gulped.

"I said, PUT ME DOWN GOD DAMMIT!" I yelled straight into his ear. He winced and jolted to a stop. All of the people were staring at us. I grew still redder.

"Oh, now look what you've done." Ikuto said, winking at me.

"Like hell this is **my** fault!" I protested, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Stop moving and just hold on tight, alright?" he said.

"What are you talking abou-" he dashed through the crowd and I instinctively curled in closer to his chest. "IKUTO!" I screamed loudly. Everyone paused to look at us as we just ran through the street.

Nagi's POV

I thought I just heard Amu-chan's voice….

"Rima-chan, did you just hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what?" Souma-senpai answered instead of my ever-so-tsundere girlfriend. I looked to him.

"You didn't hear Amu-chan's scream?" I asked. Both blondes looked at me like I was crazy.

"What the heck are you talking about, Fujisaki?" Souma-senpai asked as we walked around, trying to find Amu-chan and Hoshina-san's older brother to spy on them because the two blondes had insisted. But it was already 11:45 and they still hadn't showed up. I heard Amu-chan scream again.

"Did you hear it **this** time?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Nagi, stop being paranoid. **No one** heard it except for you. Doesn't that suggest that you're hallucinating or something like that?" Rima-chan said. I rolled my eyes.

"Do I have to remind you that I have exceptional hearing, Little Miss Tsundere?" I said to Rima-chan. She slapped me in the arm.

"Don't call me that!" she said. I just shrugged.

"Just describing you accurately." she slapped me on the arm again. "That doesn't hurt, Rima-chan." I said, hugging her to my side.

"Th-that wasn't supposed to h-hurt, crossdresser!" Rima-chan said in an effort to defend herself. I winced.

"You promised not to call me that once we started dating, Rima-chan." I chuckled quietly as I watched her face go red.

"Th-then whatever, **purplehead**! Better?" she stuttered out. Hoshina-san coughed, catching our attention.

"Nice to see you two flirting, but can you not display affection in front of the only non-couple pair here today?" Rima-chan blushed and I laughed at the determined expression on Souma-senpai's face.

"If you're so insecure about that, then we can be one." he said with a sparkle in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Hoshina-san stuttered.

"I'm asking you to become my girlfriend." Souma-senpai said matter-of-factly.

"Over a stupid reason like that?" she asked angrily. "I'm not your average pushover idol, alright? What do you take me for?" Souma-senpai looked panicked.

"That's not the reason! I know I just met you and all, but here's the thing: I've always admired you. Since you released your first song up to now. But now I have actually gotten to know you, and talk with you, I know there's a lot more on the inside of you than that popstar image you have on the TV screen. I have come to like you and I want to know you better." Souma-senpai took a deep breath. Rima-chan and I just stared with open mouths. "So will you go out with me?" By now, a small crowd us had completely stopped moving or breathing to listen to Hoshina-san's reaction.

"With all due respect, senpai….are you crazy?!" I whisper-yelled. "She's an idol, for goodness sake!" the crowd was still waiting.

"Ikuto, put me down!" all four of us jumped as Amu-chan's voice echoed through the street.

"I told you they were nearby." I said, smirking. Rima-chan rolled her eyes and punched me in the arm. The whole crowd buzzed with amusement as a very flustered Amu-chan flew through the crowd...in Tsukiyomi-san's arms.

"Woah, look! It's a girl with **pink** hair in the arms of a **navy** -haired man! Are they cosplayers?" a middle-aged woman said.

"I think maybe they're advertising the newest play or something! It looks pretty interesting! Let's go check it out!" a couple of teenagers squealed and rushed and crowded around them.

"They ended up saving us again, didn't they?" Rima-chan muttered, a small smile upon her lips. I looked at her with a confused look on my face. "You weren't there, you wouldn't know." she said coolly.

"So mean~ you left your boyfriend and went off somewhere with two other guys?" I teased, smirking.

"Sh-shut up, purplehead!" she slapped me in the arm again. I chuckled and brought her still rather petite figure closer to me.

"Shut up, you know you love me, Ri-ma-chan." I whispered into her ear. She grew completely red and elbowed me in the ribs in a futile attempt to get away from me. I winced.

"Whatever happened to the skirt-wearing, crossdressing, **gentle and kind** Nagihiko Fujisaki we all knew, huh?" she fumed, fanning her face.

"What, you want me to wear a skirt then?"

"You know perfectly well I don't mean that!"

"As much as I'd like to stand and watch you two argue all day, we have to go before another horde of fans suffocate us!" Hoshina-san yelled. She grabbed both our hands and dragged us away from the street and into a small restaurant. Everyone was already waiting for us. We smiled and sat down.

Amu's POV

Ikuto sat next to me, a just noticeable bump on his head as Utau, Rima, and Nagi walked in. I smiled and waved them over. Rima was very flustered and I raised my eyebrow at her. She just pouted and looked away. Everyone ordered what they wanted. I saw Utau lean over and whisper something into Souma-senpai's ear. I strained my ear and overheard something that sounded like,

"About earlier….fine." Souma-senpai almost spit out his food.

"Seriously?!" he yelled loudly.

"Sit down before I sock you in the stomach. Just because I agreed doesn't mean you won't have to try, alright?" Utau said between gritted teeth.

"Sure." Souma-senpai said, rolling his eyes and sitting down. "Isn't that illegal to threaten people?" he muttered.

"What did you say?" Utau said creepily, turning to him.

"N-nevermind…" he said nervously, turning to his food again. We all finished eating quickly.

"I really regret the fact that we never got to do any window-shopping." I whined, stretching. Both Utau and Rima nodded. "And it's all **his** fault!" I said, pointing accusingly at Ikuto. All three of us nodded. All the guys rolled their eyes.

"If you're so desperate to do window-shopping, we can do that **after** the movie, alright?" Nagi said, trying to convince us. Rima looked at me. Man, that habit of hers never changes…

"Fine." I said, huffing. "What movie?" the guys exchanged glances.

"You'll get to-"

"-know when you-"

"-get there." they said, taking turns speaking.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" I said half-lidded with an unamused expression on my face.

"Mmhm!" both Rima and Utau hummed while nodding vigorously.

"You guys have to speak too! Don't just make me do everything!" I snapped at them.

* * *

Me: That was so tiring but I'm not satisfied with the chapter~

Amu: Try harder then.

Me: I'm straight out of ideas though!

Ikuto: No told you to write that much a short amount of time.

Me: Shut up!

Amu: Okay, whatever... please review.

Me: I'm going to go dig myself a hole now...


	13. Chapter 13

Me: It's me! Finally with another chapter! I'm so sorry it took forever, but I kind of had a writers block!

Ikuto: *eating chips* No one cares.

Me: I do! And stop eating chips in my room!

Ikuto: No.

Amu: *comes out of nowhere* Thank you to Rose Smith who reviewed. As for your question... *blushes*

Me: I think it happened at the end of chapter 10, if I'm not mistaken...

Amu: Y-yeah, sure! Um, Nechigo-chan doesn't own anything!

Me: Wait, let me finish talk- mmf!

Amu: *gags me* Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13

Ikuto's POV

We walked straight out of the restaurant with Utau proudly strutting in front of us. Man, she never does change, does she? In a short time of 5 seconds, another horde of fans were blocking our way. A bunch of squealing fangirls….and boys. I rolled my eyes. One of the fanboys started walking closer. Amu's eyes widened, Utau and Rima following suit.

"What are you doing here, Hotori?" Amu said coldly. Wait, she knew this creep? "Didn't I tell you that I'd sue you next time if I found you anywhere near Utau again?" she said, obviously fuming with rage.

"It's none of your business, you stupid, good-for-nothing weirdo!" he said and laughed, along with some of the people around him whom I assumed were his friends. I clenched my fists. I looked to Amu, who was seething with rage. She kept a cool expression on her face, though.

"It's completely my business where my sister goes, you idiotic pervert. And what? You ran out of insults? Because that was just about the worst insult I've ever heard!" she shot back. Despite the tension of the situation, I found myself chuckling quietly on the inside. ' _Did Amu just call Utau her sister?'_ I thought. The "Hotori" kid grew extremely red and walked directly up to Amu, who was, coincidentally, in front of me and not behind me.

"Listen, I know you think I'm not going to do anything and cower-" Amu interjected.

"Like last time?" she asked, smirking. "If you want a replay of last time I'll gladly do it for you." she said. The kid looked like he was about to burst.

"Why you-" he said, putting one his hands around Amu's neck.

"Is that all you got?" Amu taunted. I didn't like where this was going. He tightened his grip and Amu took in a sharp breath. The crowd around him gasped. I took a step forward.

"Oh look, is that your boyfriend?" the blonde asked, his blood-colored irises glancing at me. "I'm surprised you even have one, but too bad! Looks like he's too much of a coward to save you!" he said sneering. I gritted my teeth and stepped forward, only to be blocked by Utau. I stared down at her in disbelief.

"What are you-" I started, but she mouthed, 'Watch Amu handle this.'

"See? Even Utau-sama supports me." he said, tightening his grip even more. Amu stopped moving. "Done already?" he asked.

"Let…."

"Hm?" he said, putting a hand over his ear. "Did someone here a fly buzzing? Or was that just me?" he laughed, along with the idiots around him.

"I said, **let go** , Hotori!" Amu said, her head snapping up and she kicked him in the stomach, making him let go and stumble back. Amu landed on her feet and looked at him with pure hatred. "Shut the hell up and get out of here, idiot!" she yelled. And then in a quieter voice, she said, "I'm so ashamed of myself. I can't believe that I used to like someone like **you**." After that, the crowd just sort of evaporated and everyone went back to being normal. We left Hotori there with his friends. As soon as we arrived into a movie theater, Amu started crying. Everyone was alarmed.

"Amu!" I yelled. She looked at me and walked towards me.

"Ikuto…" she said, hugging me. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her. She sobbed into my chest while the six of us were awkwardly standing next to the door, people staring at us.

"Hey, how about we cancel the movie and go somewhere else instead?" I gently suggested. I looked up. Everyone nodded, smiling.

"L-like where?" Amu sniffled.

"What about an amusement park?" I asked.

"But it's so late." she said into my chest.

"I know somewhere that doesn't close. Not on my watch, anyway." I said. She looked up at me.

"Seriously?" she said, her eyes slightly red.

"Of course. I wouldn't lie would I?" I said seriously, looking her in the eye. She blushed and buried her face in my chest again. I chuckled and a muffled noise came out that sounded like her voice. "What did you say?" I asked. She looked up.

"Don't laugh!" she pouted. I started laughing. "And….thank you."

"For what?" she blushed darker.

"I don't know." We stood there for a moment until Utau coughed.

"So, amusement park or what?" she asked.

Utau's POV

We walked until Ikuto pointed to a forest. We all stopped and looked at him suspiciously.

"... **That's** your idea of an amusement park?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at my older brother. "Wow, you make a horrible boyfriend." I turned to Amu. "I'm so sorry for my klutz of an older brother!"

"Um, sure…. Wait, what?!" As if she'd just realized what I was implying, Amu grew extremely red. "I-Ikuto's not my boyfriend!" she looked down at her hands. "Not yet…"

"What was that?" I asked, smirking.

"N-nothing!" Ikuto walked up behind her and hugged her.

"That's cruel, Amu-koi~" he whined. I laughed as Amu grew even redder. She tried to pry him off of her, but of course that didn't work.

"Can we please keep going?" Amu said, eyes squeezed shut.

"Calm down, we're just messing with you!" I said, laughing. She finally tore herself from Ikuto and ran to Rima and Nagihiko. I chuckled. "That girl's just too cute. You're so lucky, Ikuto. If I were a guy, I'd be jealous of you." I teased.

"Shut up, Utau."

"Onii-chan, hidoi!" I said with tears in my eyes.

"I know those are fake." he said, not even looking at me.

"Damn you, Ikuto." I muttered. We kept talking, laughing and walking until we reached a beige wall with a black gate as an entrance. Amu's eyes sparkled as she looked around.

"Ikuto, we've been here before!" she said, looking and sounding delighted. I glanced over at Ikuto, raising an eyebrow.

"You remembered?" he said, smiling an actual smile. For once. Amu looked alarmed at the fact that she had been so delighted.

"N-not that it m-matters!" she said, crossing her arms and turning her head in a cute but pathetic effort to cover her past actions.

"Oh ho? So you two have gone on dates before?" Rima and I echoed. "Suspicious, suspicious, suspicious…." we chanted as we swarmed Amu.

"M-mou! Stop it! Those weren't dates!" she said, blushing.

"But you **have** been out together!" we said triumphantly.

"So you don't want to admit that we had more than just a couple of dates here?" Ikuto played along, smirking.

"Like I said, those weren't dates!" Amu yelled.

"Okay, okay. Calm down, Amu-chan." Nagihiko said, sweatdropping. "Besides, I think you're forgetting that Souma-senpai and I are here." (A/N: Oh yeah! I was completely forgetting about Kukai!)

"You're right! Can we please go inside?" Kukai whined.

"Stop acting like a kid." I muttered.

"Then how do you want me to act?" he said, coming up super close to me. I blushed and backed up. Just a tiny bit.

"I don't know! Just...whatever!" Ikuto and Amu started laughing. "What's so funny?!" I snapped, completely flustered.

"Just, you're always the one teasing other people and now you're all flustered and blushing." Amu said, still laughing.

"Okay, that's it! We're going inside!" I grabbed Kukai swiftly by the arm and literally just pulled him along, pushing the gate open. I looked around. I remembered this place! "Hey, I know this place too! Our family used to come here when we were little." I said, glancing at Ikuto.

"Oh, so you finally realized, 'lil sis." he said teasingly.

"Oh, shut up. It's not like I have to always pay attention to whatever road we're on." I retorted, sticking my tongue out.

"Okay, okay. Let's stop the sibling rivalry right here and start playing!" Kukai yelled excitedly. I shot him a look. "What? I'm excited, okay?" he said shrugging. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, let's get moving. Where to first?"

*Timeskip brought to you by the charas, who have no place in this story!*

"Woah! That was fun!" Amu yelled, laughing. We were all currently collapsed on the grass in a small picnic place in the amusement park.

"I think we've done just about every ride and attraction in the amusement park." I said, thinking. "There's one left, but I can't seem to put my finger on it…" I trailed off and brought my hand to my chin. I saw Amu gulp out of the corner of my eye.

"Isn't it this one?" Rima said, bringing the map to me.

"Rima!" Amu yelled, trying to snatch the map out of the small blonde's hands. Too late. I had already seen the attraction she was pointing to. The haunted house.

"Amu?" I asked creepily, an evil aura shrouding me.

"Y-yes?" she replied nervously, gulping.

"Get ready for the most terrifying experience of your life." I cackled evilly.

"That makes you sound like a witch." Kukai muttered, chuckling to himself.

"Shut up, Souma!" I said. I turned around and huffed. Then I made everyone stand up and dragged some of them, or **Kukai and Amu** (A/N: *coughs* scaredy-cats *coughs*) toward the haunted house, chuckling evilly. We arrived in front.

"So, what now?" Nagihiko asked, yawning. I grinned wickedly and answered his question.

"We are going to go in groups of two. Whichever pair can circle the **whole** thing, including all hidden rooms, the fastest will get a prize. Okay? Okay." I smirked at the end, answering my own question.

"Ano...is there withdrawal?" Amu said nervously.

"Nope! Then...who should go first?"

* * *

Me: Well, we all know Amu's going to be scared to death next chapter. *evil smile*

Amu: No! I don't want to! Rima, it's your fault for showing that to Utau!

Rima: *watery eyes* Why are you blaming me?

Amu: *panics* No, don't **cry**!

Nagi: Those are fake~!

Amu: What?!

Rima: *wipes away tears* Damn you, Nagihiko Fujisaki!

Me: Language, child!

Utau: Souma and I are going to win this contest!

Kukai: For sure!

Amu: Then why'd you make us all do it?!

Utau: To torture you.

Amu: Meanie.

Ikuto: Please review to see Amuto moments in the next chapter!

Me: Hey, I'm the author! No promises, sorry.


	14. Chapter 14

Me: This took so long~

Amu: Why are you so mean to me?

Me: What are you talking about? *whistling*

Amu: *sobbing in a corner while eating instant ramen*

Ikuto: Well, the author doesn't own anything...?

Me: Indeed, I don't.

* * *

Chapter 14

Utau's POV

"Nope! Then...who should go first?" I waited for someone to speak up. No one did. I groaned. "Fine, then Kukai and I'll be going first, alright?"

"First of all, don't decide things like that without my consent!" Kukai screamed. "Second, I thought you only called me my last name?" he asked. I mentally facepalmed. I forgot. I just said his first name, didn't I? Ugh. Idiot.

"W-well, it's not like it matters, right?" I asked, heat flooding into my cheeks. Amu laughed despite her breakdown.

"I-it doesn't matter, but you know, it was just kind of….new and y-you know." he trailed off, looking away from me.

"It's cute that you guys are flirting and all for about the millionth time, but can you guys go? Some of us want to get this over with, you know!" Ikuto said, sounding mildly irritated.

"Ooh, looks like someone has a sister complex, doesn't it?" Amu teased.

"What, are you jealous, Amu-koi?" Ikuto retorted, leaning towards the poor girl.

"Wh-what the heck are you talking about?" she yelled, stumbling back a tiny bit. I rolled my eyes. Lovebirds. My least favorite type of people.

"Okay stop. We're going, all right?" I looked to Kukai. He was panicking. "Come on, I can't go in without you, that ruins the point of the competition!" I grabbed him by the hand and dragged him through the entrance.

"Please don't die, Souma-senpai!" Amu yelled, waving us off with an incredibly scared expression on her face. I laughed.

"Okay, let's go through this real quick." I said, cracking my neck. We ran through so fast everything was a blur. I think there were some jump scares but I wouldn't know: we sped through so fast. We circled and came back. Amu stopped the stopwatch as we burst out the entrance, laughing at each other.

"That was 5 minutes flat!" Amu yelled out in surprise. "Just how big is that thing?!" she muttered to herself.

"Pretty darn big, if I could say." Kukai said, almost out of breath like me. It actually wasn't that bad I think...but that might be because we ran.

"So, who's next?" I asked looking at Amu and Rima.

Rima's POV

I gulped as Utau stared at me. I really wasn't looking forward to this. I mean, it wasn't like I was particularly afraid, but the whole sight of the rather big attraction gave me the chills. I looked to Amu. Looks like she's going to die….

"Mou, I guess I have no choice." I huffed, crossing my arms. I snuck a look at Nagi. He just smiled at me. I guess he's okay with it then. We walked to the entrance. I gulped and clenched my fist hard. Nagi smiled and took my hand.

"Ready. Set. Go!" Utau's voice echoed clear. We walked in.

"Ne, can we run?" I asked. He looked at me like I was speaking nonsense. "Why?"

"But Rima-chan, didn't you say you hated running?" I was about to reply when he said, "Besides, can you keep up with me?" I opened my mouth and closed it again. He did have a point there.

"It's fine. You're not easily scared by these things anyway, right?" he asked, smiling.

"That's true, but I don't like the feeling of this place." I said, shivering. He looked at me and smiled like he was looking at a small child. "Don't look at me like that." I huffed. That's when I realized we were still walking. I was so absorbed in talking to Nagi that I didn't notice any of the contraptions. We just kept talking. I'm so glad that I wasn't too aware of my surroundings. I did notice a couple of things, though. Blood was smeared all the way across the walls and the floor was littered with fake fingers realistic enough to make you think they were real. It was a wonder how Utau didn't trip over anything while running through these halls.

"Rima-chan?" Nagi's voice snapped me back to reality.

"Hm?" I looked up at him.

"You were spacing out." he said with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, sorry, was just thinking. This sickeningly reminds of something that I can't quite put my finger on…" I trailed off.

"Probably some bad dream you had when you a kid." he said, hands in his pockets and looking up at the ceiling. "But you've got to admit, they designed this really well."

"I'm guessing you're not scared then?" I asked.

"Are you kidding, Rima-chan? I live a 200 year old mansion basically in the middle of a forest! It houses the great 7 wonders of the mountains?" (A/N: Who else laughed super hard at this episode? The one where Amu goes to Nadeshiko's house? I did.)

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." I said. I walked a little closer to him as we approached a headless body. We were turning the corner when one of the hand shot out and grabbed my leg. "Oh shit!" I screamed, and turned around to glare at the fake body while clutching Nagi's arm. Who was, much to my annoyance, laughing his head off at my reaction.

"Rima-chan," he said, snickering. " **language** please~." I growled and slapped him on the arm.

"You could at least show **some** concern if some random, headless corpse grabbed your girlfriend's leg!" I snapped but clutched his arm tighter.

"Oh, well someone's scared." he teased but gave me a comforting hug and stroked my hair. We kept walking and after me embarrassingly crying out a couple more times, we arrived at the entrance again. I sighed in relief.

"That was 20 minutes…" Amu said, as pale as a ghost. She probably heard me scream or something. That's when I realized the sky was starting cloud over. I checked my phone. 5:48 PM, huh.

"Well, let's hurry up and after you guys finish, we can all have dinner together, does that sound good?" I suggested.

"If I even get out alive!" Amu said, trembling. I rolled my eyes. This girl! I mean, sure, she was my best friend but she overreacted over this kind of stuff way too much. Like **way** too much.

"You'll be completely fine!" Utau said, waving her hand dismissively. "Okay, ready?" Amu gulped. "Set, go!" I walked up behind Amu and Utau's brother and shoved them both inside.

"That's done, all we have to do is wait." I said, dusting my hands off and sitting down on the bench near the huge mansion-like attraction. Only thing left was to wait. Would they even get out before today passed?

Amu's POV

I let out a slight squeak as Rima shoved me inside. For such a short girl, she sure did have an impressive amount of strength. I looked around. It was deserted and creepy, alright. But nothing too extreme…

"Amu-koi~" Ikuto said, waving a hand in front of my face. My face turned red and I turned to look at him.

"What?!" I snapped.

"Are we going or not?" I rolled my eyes at his question.

"Okay, let's go then." I said, grabbing him by the hand and starting to drag him down the long hallway. He stumbled and regained his balance before continuing to follow me. I froze at the sound of demented laughter, making Ikuto bump into me from the back. "Wh-what was that?" I stuttered out, almost choking on my words.

"What was what?" Ikuto asked, looking at me with his hands in his pockets while leaning against the wall.

"Th-the laughter…" I trembled as I felt the hairs rise on my back. Ikuto shrugged.

"I didn't hear anything." I didn't reply and just kept walking. We walked for a while and I stepped on something rather squishy. I looked down, lifting my foot. It was a finger.

"KYAHHHHHH!" I screamed and started running. I stepped on something that made a 'click' sound and slowed a tiny bit. I closed my eyes and sighed. I opened them again. A ghost was staring right at me. "AHHHH!" I shouted, extremely scared and surprised.

"KYAHAHAHAHA!" I backed away as the ghost started laughing maniacally. I turned and ran back in the direction I came from. I shrieked as I noticed blood running down the walls and closed my eyes. I kept running and ran into something and fell on my butt.

"Itai…" I said, dusting myself off. "Ikuto?" I looked up. I let out another shrill scream as I saw a zombie hold a knife. It groaned and moved the knife towards me. I turned around and turned down a different hallway. I smashed into something again. I looked up more cautiously this time. Ikuto looked at me.

"I was wondering where you went off to." he said, moving me in front of him.

"That's all you've got to say? You're girlfriend-" I slapped a hand over my mouth. What was I saying?

"My girlfriend what?" he asked, looking towards the wall, blushing slightly and scratching the side of his face awkwardly.

"Did you just ask me out in the worst condition in the subtlest way possible?" I looked at him, jaw gaping.

"Maybe." he said, smirking down at me.

* * *

Rima: *blinks* That just really happened, right?

Me: Hehe... I was writing it and it just kinda turned out that way...

Amu: *still sobbing in the corner*

Utau: Wow, sucks for Amu.

Rima: I can't believe I was creeped out by some whip-up haunted house.

Nagi: Well, you were, so I don't know what to say about that.

Rima: *rolls eyes* Whatever.

Ikuto: *is reading manga* Please review.


	15. Chapter 15

Me: This took me way too long~! I really need to get my butt moving!

Ikuto: Says the person who's testing and doesn't have any homework.

Me: Sh-shut up!

Amu: In spite of our lazy author, thank you to bloodrosesquires and CrazyCharlotte for following and emmajohn28 for both following and favoriting!

Me: So mean~ *starts crying*

Nagi: *pokes head in and whispers* Fake~

Me: Shut up and do the disclaimer already!

Nagi: *still whispering* The author doesn't own anything at all~!

Me: Hey, I own the plot!

* * *

Chapter 15

Amu's POV

I kept staring at him as if to say, 'Are you completely serious right now?' and he sighed.

"Why can't you just believe me, for crying out loud?" he asked, hugging me and burying his head in the crook of my neck. I blushed.

"Ikuto, can we discuss this after we get out of here?" I said, trying to push him away. He didn't let go.

"Are you agreeing or are you declining?" he asked stubbornly. I tried to pull away so I could see his face. When he didn't let me, I rolled my eyes and looked through the corner of my eyes. I could see pink. A lot of it.

"Ikuto, a-are you b-blushing?" I stammered out, looking away a little bit.

"What do you mean?" he asked bluntly, also looking away.

"I mean, because you're not letting me face you and stuff…." I stopped as he grabbed my shoulders and looked down at me.

"Amu, I like you." he said, his face flushed and trying to look nonchalant but failing. I blushed and looked toward my feet.

"I thought I told you to stop messing with me." I muttered, biting my lip. He couldn't be serious. No, he wasn't serious. Why would he be? He gave an exasperated sigh.

"What can I do to make you believe me? Hinamori Amu, I like you. A lot. That's all you need to know." he paused before saying again, "I'm not going to repeat it again after this: Will you go out with me?" he was bolder this time. He looked at me intensely as I shied away from his gaze.

"G-geez. What am I supposed to do if you shove yourself in my face. Even if I wanted to, I can't say no." I looked down at my feet.

"So that's a yes, right?"

"I'm not spelling it out for you!" I yelled and turned around, crossing my arms. I pouted as I heard him chuckle and turned around again. I slapped him in the arm. He kept laughing and stopped only when I gave him the mega-pout.

"Okay, I'll stop." I broke out into a grin that stopped midway when he continued. "But, only if you give me a kiss on the cheek, Amu-koi~" he teased, smirking. My face flushed immediately and I hit him on the head.

"Now we're back to normal." he said, rolling his eyes, rubbing the spot I had hit on his head. I giggled slightly but covered it with a cough and then turned around, grabbing his hand.

"Well now that I'm back to normal, let's get out of here." I said, looking around the place and shivering again. I squeezed his hand tighter and took a cautious step forward. My focus was completely on the floor in front of me, trying to walk forward without falling. I looked up and my eyes widened as I started to see blood dripping down the walls. I ran for my life, practically dragging Ikuto behind me.

"What's the rush all of a sudden, Amu?" Ikuto asked. I looked back at him exasperatedly.

"Can you even see, Ikuto?!" I screamed, still running. "There's freaking blood dripping down the walls!"

"That's fake though." he said bluntly.

"I don't care if that's fake or real! What's blood is blood!" I screamed, running down the halls. I skidded to a stop as my foot slid over something squishy. I paused and looked at Ikuto with an expression that would probably make him laugh. "What was that?" I practically screamed.

"Um, well, for starters, don't look down." he advised amusedly. I peeked my eyes open and shrieked at what my eyes saw. A finger. Cut off.

"What the!" I screamed. I then realized there were several severed fingers lying about around me. "Argh! Damn you, Ikuto!" I screamed. He shrugged.

"What? I told you specifically not to look down." he coolly stated. "You're the one that looked down even when I strictly told you not to." I grumbled.

"How can someone not look down when you tell them not to look down?" I said, starting to freeze up. A wave of nausea hit me and it felt as though I was spiraling through time and space. I shook my head clear. "Anyways, it's completely and wholly your fault, Ikuto!" I yelled loudly. Suddenly the room turned sideways and I was falling. 'Great, now this.' I thought sarcastically. I expected to crash into the floor but Ikuto lunged forward and caught me right before I fell to the ground. Which actually hurt my ribs by the way. "Ow~" I groaned.

"Shush princess, and get some rest while I carry you outside." Ikuto said. I looked to him with an exasperated look.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" I asked, blowing my bangs out of my face. He looked down at me.

"Then I couldn't have asked you out." he stated bluntly. I felt heat flush up to my cheeks and closed my mouth tightly, pressing my lips together to the point in which they turned white. I decided that I would stay quiet until we'd reached the exit. For the moment, I just closed my eyes and felt the slight wind as Ikuto was carrying me. It's childish of me, but I felt like a real princess.

Ikuto's POV

I smirked as Amu went silent. A minute or two later, we'd reached the exit of the attraction. As I set Amu down, I playfully asked her,

"Did you enjoy the ride, princess?" she glared at me and huffed. "Well, what are saying and doing?" I prompted her.

"Fine, thank you." she grumbled out. "Happy?" I stared at her expectantly. She eyed me warily. "What?" I sighed.

"I guess I'll do it this time." Before she could even say anything, I pulled her in by the waist and kissed her. I heard her squeak in embarrassment and try to pull away, but I kept her still in my clutch. Her eyes grew wide then closed slightly. Suddenly, I heard a cough that snapped the mood altogether and I looked over, irritated. "What is it?" I asked, trying to keep a cool exterior.

"Um, can you guys make out somewhere else? It's kinda embarrassing to watch." the boy named Kukai said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. I looked down at Amu, who was blushing super hard, and smirked. I grabbed her hand and turned around.

"Let's go. Didn't you say we were going to eat together Utau?" I said without looking back.

"Well, you're paying, since you guys took the longest time to get out." she stated matter-of-factly and started to follow me.

"What? You never said that!" I hissed distastefully and groaned. I turned to look at her and gave her a look.

"Oh I didn't?" she said, fluttering her eyelashes as innocently as possible. "Well, I just did so you have to."

"Do you even realize that I'm your brother?" I muttered and Amu giggled. I shook my head and heaved a sigh that turned into a chuckle. "Okay, well let's go get dinner then… as my treat." I said coolly and turned around, smirking.

"What?! If you say that, it makes me the bad person!" Utau yelled at me, chasing after me.

"Oops, gotta run~!" I yelled and swept Amu off her feet. "Ta ta, Utau! See you at the restaurant when you've cooled your head a bit!" I said and took off. Amu's face was red and she whisper-screamed.

"Put me down Ikuto!"

"Nope." I deadpanned her as we zoomed through the streets.

"Ikuto!"

* * *

Me: It's been so long since I've updated I think I forgot everything. *eating pocky*

Amu: I don't like this chapter. It's scary and disturbing.

Me: Which part?

Amu: All of it.

Ikuto: Even though you're my girlfriend now?

Amu: That's the most disturbing.

Ikuto: What?! *pout*

Utau: Ugh I can't stand these lovebirds. Review or watch me barf at these two.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for a shorter chapter than usual T^T I honestly have a writers block and I can't think. Please forgive this horrible author and please look out for more chapters~

Arigatou gozaimasu~


	16. Chapter 16

Me: Hello everyone~

Amu: There's no one any more, the readers all gave up on you.

Rima: Where have you been? Everyone thought you disappeared off the face of the Earth!

Me: I'm sorry~ T^T But I came back with a nice, long chapter to make up for it!

Ikuto: To be honest, I don't think that will work...

Me: Shut up! Enjoy.

Nagi: Our rude author doesn't own anything at all!

Me: Nagi, even you...

* * *

Chapter 16

Utau's POV

I shook my fist after the two weirdos as they ran off towards the restaurant we were going to have dinner at.

"Sometimes, I wish Amu would stop overreacting to everything." I heard Rima sigh. I chuckled and looked to her.

"I know, right? But then again, that's **who** Amu is." I said, smiling. Rima giggled and looked off in the direction Amu and Ikuto had headed off in.

"True." she mused, quietly for a moment while I just nodded.

"So are we just going to sit, sorry, **stand** here and gossip about Amu-chan or actually get going to the restaurant?" Nagihiko asked, rolling his eyes. "Because, believe it or not, the two left a good 10 minutes before."

"Are you serious?!" Kukai yelled. "Hoshina, I'll race you to the restaurant. Loser grants winner a wish?" he didn't wait for my answer and started running towards the restaurant like a madman.

"Hey! That's cheating!" I yelled and bolted after him… in heels by the way! Well, not that I wasn't used to it, but not my favorite running conditions. A few people turned in the direction of my voice and their eyes widened as they saw my face.

"Oh my goodness! Is that the idol Hoshina Utau?"

"Seriously? I'm her biggest fan!"

"Are you sure that's her?"

"I think so, but why is she here right now? With who?" ' _Oh shoot! I forgot that I am an idol! Since middle school, and I never get used to this!'_ Fans started hurtling to me from every direction, all pushing and shoving to get a better look at me. I internally screamed and started running faster, my eyes clenched tightly shut, almost **afraid** of the horde of crazy fans before me. I kept running as fast as I could...before I tripped over a fan's foot. (A/N: Hmmm I think something similar to this happened before *cough*) In the split second I was falling, time seemed to slow down and several thoughts passed through my head. ' _What if I fall and injure myself so badly I can't work on TV anymore? What will happen to me? What will happen to the company? What if I can't even sing anymore? What will everyone think? Will they think that I got what I deserved? No, I don't want that to happen!'_ My eyes were clenched shut as I kept falling forward and thought about my impending doom. I could feel the ground just inches from me before I felt myself being caught and lifted up.

"Oof! Better be careful there, missy. Don't want to ruin that pretty face of yours and not be able to go on TV anymore, right?" Kukai's voice said, still running as though nothing had happened. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck and discovered that we were still running. My eyes snapped opened to find many people just staring at me. Some idiot in the crowd cried out,

"Someone start filming this!" my eyes widened and I looked up at Kukai. He looked down at me and winked playfully.

"What, you're underestimating the captain of the Seiyo High soccer team?" he asked, grinning cockily. I rolled my eyes, still in panic mode. By now, many of the people were fumbling for their phones.

"No, but I may or may not get a rant from my boss on Monday morning about the headline, " **Idol Hoshina Utau, SCANDAL With Normal Teenage Boy"**!" I whisper-screamed so the crowd around couldn't hear.

"What, it's not like we're not dating or anything. Are you ashamed of being girlfriend?" he teased.

"Now's not the time~ But of course not!" I said through gritted teeth. "I'm just afraid what the people would think. Now, what do we do about this? Think of something, quickly! People are getting their cellphones out to film us!" I looked up at him, desperately hoping he'd think of something.

"...Let go of my neck." he said, continuing to run forward.

"Oh sure. Wait you want me to do what?!" I yelled toning my voice down a bit. "Are you crazy?! I'm not going to let go of your neck! That's basically suicide. Or murder on your behalf, do you realize that?!" He looked down at me and smiled.

"Just trust me, I've got this." he said to me. We had run past a lot of fans but there were still people surrounding us, busy taking out and unlocking their phones. "Just unwrap your arms, lean into my chest, and cover your face! You should be fine!" he said to me. Ugh.

"Fine, but if you fall, don't say I didn't warn you!" I said worriedly and cautiously unwrapped my arms from his neck. I leaned into his chest and quickly covered my face with my arms, my usually long, pigtailed blonde hair thankfully in a single, curled ponytail today. ' _Let's just hope I get famous as a look-alike, if not better.'_ I thought and clenched my eyes shut, even though they couldn't see my eyes. The ruckus suddenly died away and I peeped a looked.

"We're here." Kukai said, out of breath. There were no people and the place was practically deserted.

"Utau, senpai!" Amu yelled, waving us over. We jogged over to them, and sat down quickly. "Are you okay?" She asked, fussing over us worriedly.

"We're fine." Kukai said, already recovered and grinning widely. Amu kept looking around us.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Where are Rima and Nagi?" she asked confusedly. I gasped.

"Oh my gosh, where- what-" I was cut off as a grumpy voice called out.

"We're **here**."

Rima's POV

I huffed and stomped inside the restaurant, my purple headed boyfriend tagging along closely behind. I was highly irritated because, well...who just abandons someone in the middle of the street?! Like to be honest, we almost drowned in a sea of people! Amu ran up to me and hugged me.

"My goodness, what happened?" Utau was behind, giving me an apologetic stare. I sighed.

"If you really want to know…"

 ***Flashback***

As far I remember, we were walking along quite happily after Amu and Utau's older brother had run off. We were talking about how Amu overreacted to everything and suddenly everything flipped upside down and Utau and senpai started having a contest to see who could get the faster. I tried to remind them that some of us couldn't run. AKA, **me**. But, you know, curse my shortness, and smallness, I wasn't **loud** enough. They dashed off like their lives were on the line, Utau slightly later than senpai. After Utau and Souma-senpai had, quote "abandoned" us, a huge wave of people literally washed over us and Nagi and I got separated from each other. I looked around, my dark blonde hair swishing around me as I started panicking. I couldn't find Nagi and pretty soon I was hyperventilating as memories from my past swirled around in my head, making me sick. All of a sudden, a person snatched my hand and started dragging me towards an alley, which was deserted. I inwardly screamed and struggled to rip my wrist away from the offending phalanges. I had finally succeeded in doing so and started running away but the person had caught me by the arm this time. I yelped and blindly swung at whatever I could hit. I hit something hard but still skin. I'm guessing it was the stomach because the anonymous person let go and took in a sharp breath. As the hand reached for me again, I started running.

"Someone please help! This person is trying to kidna-" I was abruptly cut off as the hand wrapped around my mouth and the person just dragged me towards the alley. Tears started welling up in my eyes as I screamed into the hand. We got to the alley and the person let go of my mouth but held my hands tightly. My vision was so blurry, I couldn't see anymore. I kicked at the person again and again. My mind was white with fear and I hit the offender straight in the shin.

"Ow! Rima-chan, calm down!" a familiar voice said. "What are you doing?" I freed one of my hands and started wiping my tears away.

"Who are you, how do you know my name, and what are you planning to do with me?!" I yelled.

"Rima-chan, I think you're slightly delusional right now. Was it the stale popcorn you ate at the amusement park?" I looked up. Nagi was standing there, still clutching his shin in pain and a worried look in his eyes. ' _Oh, oops….heh I guess I'm not getting kidnapped again.'_

"Sorry. I freaked out for a second there." he gave me look.

"Well, next time, please check to see if it's your poor boyfriend." he said, rolling his eyes.

"Why are we here anyway?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

"1. There's less people here, 2. We can catch a taxi and get there fast without having to worry about the horde of fans Hoshina-san brought here." he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh...right."

 ***End Flashback***

"...is what happened." I said, concluding my story with a sigh. Amu laughed and almost choked on her food. "What's so funny?" I asked her, shooting a glare.

"Sorry, I just felt really bad for poor Nagi." she said, drinking her water, but still chuckling at the same time, yet somehow not choking.

"I know, right? I swear Rima-chan abuses me." Nagi said, smirking over his pasta and shooting me a glance.

"Sh-shut up! I'm sorry, but I seriously didn't know. Besides, you didn't even tell me!" I yelled at him.

"You still love me though~" he tested me.

"No, I hate you." I said, huffing and crossing my arms.

"What? Seriously?" he said, a little panicked.

"Yeah."

"No way!" Everyone laughed, even me. Except for my poor boyfriend.

After dinner, we split up into groups of two, Amu and Utau's older brother, Utau and Souma-senpai, and Nagi and me. Technically, Amu and Souma-senpai live closer together, and Utau and her older brother live together, but I wasn't about say that in fear of decapitation by eye lasers. Nagi and I were walking to my house, because 1. It was closer, 2. Nagi insisted.

"You really didn't have to." I said, trying to break the not awkward silence.

"But I did. Because I was worried." he said, wrapping his arm over my shoulders. Which was hard since he was like 5' 10" and I was around 5' 2". I was rather funny actually. We reached my house too soon. I didn't want to go in. I stopped at the entrance of the wall.

"Well, I guess, maybe you can text me when you get home?" I looked up at him expectantly.

"Yeah, I will. But will you be okay until then?" I smiled.

"It's fine, the war-zone will take a while to pass anyway. I'll look forward to that text." I paused for a second and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye, purple head." I said, and ran to the door. I waved him goodbye. I slipped inside and closed the door behind me. I could already hear them fighting. I was sick of this.

"Mashiro Rima, where were you?"

"Are you insane to be out at this time? You already got kidnapped once, and you still can't snap out of it?!" my so-called parents fired glares at each other then me. It had begun.

* * *

Rima: Just what the even...what is this?!

Me: I don't know.

Amu: Sad part is, she wrote most of this in one day. Why couldn't you have written it earlier?!

Me: Because. I had Disneyland and my archery competition.

Ikuto: Excuses, excuses.

Utau: So who won our battle?

Kukai: Hey that was my question!

Nagi: *awkward laugh* Please review.

* * *

Hello everyone, this is AwkwardAuthor25 for the first time in like forever.

First of all, thank you for reading this chapter and sorry for my absence. (I tried I swear T^T)

Second, I am think to end this fanfiction in about 4 more chapters or so...what are your thoughts on that? Thank you again and please PM me or review on your view of this.

Arigato gozaimasu~


	17. Chapter 17

Me: Wow, this chapter... I died while writing this...

Rima: What the heck is this chapter?!

Me: *winces* I don't know! I was just writing it and it turned out this way!

Amu: *reads chapter* Oh. My. Gosh. What the- *censor*

Kukai: What's all this commotion?

Me: Kukai! Good timing! *hides behind* save me~!

Kukai: Um...okay... *whispering* This crazy person doesn't us or anything related to us.

Me: *growls* Hey! I heard that!

Ikuto: *yawns* Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 17

Nagi's POV

I stood in front of the door for a little bit, feeling slightly uneasy. After five seconds of hearing nothing, I sighed in relief and started to turn away. Just as I was about to walk off, a voice yelled inside the house and two shrieks were heard. I ran up to the door and turned the handle. Thank goodness it was open.

"COME HERE, YOU ANNOYING HAG!" the man who seemed to be Rima-chan's father yelled at the woman, who was obviously her mother. She was on the floor, trembling, the sleeve of her button-down t-shirt cut and stained a sickening dark red and spreading. Rima-chan just stared with her eyes wide.

"No...stop...no!" she yelled as she crouched down and covered her ears, just quietly hiding in her corner, not even noticing that I was there.

"BOTH THE HAG AND THE CHILD! YOU BOTH ARE GOING TO DIE AT MY HANDS TODAY!" the man yelled psychotically. Rima's head shot up at this, and I looked at him in a panic. My presence had not been acknowledged just yet. He suddenly lunged at Rima-chan with the knife raised and swung it down towards her face. I quickly lunged forward to protect her.

Rima's POV

I couldn't do anything but just sit there and **watch** as my so-called "father" looked at me with such rage in his eyes and lunged toward me with the knife. I clenched my eyes closed and wait for the sharp pain to hit me. Instead, what hit me was a warm, sticky liquid that started dripping. I opened my eyes, alarmed. My eyes widened to realize Nagi was standing with his arm on the wall, the knife buried in his arm. He looked at the man before me and yelled,

"If you had a daughter, care for her. And if you can't care for her, worry about her. If you can't worry about her, leave her alone. If you can't leave her alone, don't hurt her. If you hurt her, **you are not enough as a parent or a person!** " he yelled angrily as he pushed my dad away, taking the knife out of his arm and throwing it out the window. He took out his phone and quickly dialed the emergency number. The man that used to be my father just stood there in shock at realizing what he had done. As soon as Nagi hung up, he clutched his arm and looked at me. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, kneeling down and looking at me intently. I just looked up at him quietly for a moment.

"I….I'm…." I paused, getting choked up. I felt tears well up in my eyes and quickly tried to blink them away. He let go of his injured arm and wrapped the other arm around me.

"It's okay to cry." he said. I drew in a sharp breath. I'd never thought the day would come when I'd hear those words.

"C-could you repeat that again?" I tried asking, but by then the tears were already streaming down my face.

"It's **okay** to cry." he repeated firmly. I felt a huge lump rise in my throat. I choked out a sob that I had been holding in for all the years my parents had been fighting. I hugged around his torso tightly and buried my face in his shoulder. I cried into his shoulder choking on my tears and sobbing, letting everything out.

"I-I'm so sorry!" I sobbed out, clinging onto him like a little child. He hugged me tighter with his one arm and asked,

"For what?"

"F-for always being s-so mean to you and g-getting you h-hurt!" I wailed, my small arms already tired from hugging him so tight. "Wh-what if you c-can't play b-basketball anymore?!" I sobbed into his shoulder again.

"It's not your fault." he soothed and rubbed my back, making me cry even more. "Besides, I would rather not play basketball than have watched you get stabbed right before my eyes and not have done anything when I clearly could have." he said calmly, lifting me out of the corner with no strain at all.

"But you said-" I was abruptly cut off.

"Rima, your mascara is running down your face~" he said teasingly, but his face was pale and was beading with cold sweat.

"Don't joke around, I feel really bad right now!" I said, trying to keep a gloomy mood but already half-laughing. Suddenly a bunch of lights flashed around us and there were people from the emergency room and policemen all over the place. They handcuffed my "father", who was still standing, with a loss for words...and also a weapon. They came closer to us and Nagi let go of me, making me give a slight whimper. I clutched the back of his shirt, causing him to look back at me. The people noticed this and quietly went to check my parents for wounds first. My poor boyfriend, his already pale face was even more unnaturally pale.

"What's wrong, Rima-chan?" he asked, back to the formalities now that the moment's passed.

"Don't leave me alone." I whispered quietly, looking down at my toes. "And plus, just call me 'Rima' already. You've been doing it little by little anyway." I said to push away the awkwardness threatening to pollute the air. Nagi chuckled.

"Okay, **Rima**. I'll see if the helpers will let you come with me on the ambulance." he said as he smiled at me. I felt the heat rush to my face. Thank goodness I was already red from all the crying.

"They have to let me. I'm your girlfriend for goodness sakes!" I yelled at him, a little flustered.

"Calm down, Rima." he said, chuckling again.

"What are you talking about? I **am** calm. I am the definition of calm." I said, huffing and trying to calm myself down.

"Sure, you are...Ri..ma…" he said slowly, clutching his arm, face twisted in pain. He was extremely pale and sweat was covering his whole face. My eyes widened and I quickly checked his wound. I screamed in alarm as he fainted. I removed his hand only to find a foot-long gash about a half a centimeter wide. The doctors looked up in alarm and rushed to my side.

"What's wrong, miss?" they asked quickly. Tears started filling in my eyes quickly as I stared at the gash, draining blood quickly.

"Nagihiko...the blood...injury." I couldn't speak or think coherently. The person urged me on, unable to understand. I gave up trying to find the words and pointed at the huge wound. Her eyes widened as they reached the wound and quickly called over more people and a stretcher. I stumbled behind the people carrying him and into the ambulance car. I covered my eyes and started to cry, curled into a ball and kept crying into my knees, the legs of my jeans getting soaked completely. No, no, no. **Why was this happening?** I jolted by the woman from earlier asking me something.

"Miss, I understand you're shaken, but please answer one question." She said pleadingly.

"What is it?" I said, breathing uneven. The woman sighed in relief in my answering.

"Please tell me his blood type, he may not survive if he loses more blood from his condition right now." she told me urgently. I drew in a sharp breath.

"I-it's AB." I said with certainty. I needed to calm down. I watched the nurse pale. I started panicking. "What is it?"

"W-we just ran out of AB blood…." she said. My eyes widened.

"B-but that's just in the car...right?" she didn't respond. "Right?!" She looked to me with a helpless look on her face.

"N-no…" The world literally started to unravel for me at that moment in my life...and I couldn't breathe as the feeling of dread came upon me.

* * *

Me: And...there you have it.

Rima: That's it? **That's it?!**

Me: *covers ears* Yes...? *laughs awkwardly*

Amu: *sobbing* Poor Nagi~!

Kukai: No! Who am I going to challenge in every sport ever **now**?!

Rima & Amu: *glares*

Kukai: What? I was mourning too. *backs away*

Rima & Amu: Shut up! *cries* (Well Amu does, anyway.)

Me: Ahaha...please review~ My review box is hungry T^T I haven't had a single review since chapter ten.

Ikuto: You don't have to but it would be nice if you did. Then the author would stop whining.

Me: Hey-

Ikuto: Don't say it's not true, because we both know it is.

Me: *closes mouth*

* * *

Update: A huge thank you goes out to an anonymous guest that reviewed, notifying me of a fact I didn't know. ^^; (Which I cannot view on the computer for some mysterious reason -_-) This shows my lacking qualities as an author, but thank you so much~ I know Nagi only has A blood in the anime and AB blood in the manga, but For convenience, I will use the manga blood type. We'll just pretend like there may be health problems if he uses any other blood because he has AB -...

Disclaimer: There is no scientific background on any of the stuff in this and the next few chapters~ (Sorry T^T)

Gomenasai for my lack of knowledge, and **arigato gozaimasu~** Please R&R~!


	18. Chapter 18

Me: Wow, I can't believe I started summer off sick with a cold. *sniffles*

Ikuto: Whatever, you got the chapter out.

Me: Shut up. *hisses*

Amu: Nevertheless of our author's condition, we'd like to thank PixieChangling16, Guest, and Anime in Love FOREVER for reviews!

Utau: And don't forget to thank doublrXbronson for the follow and favorite!

Rima: *is sulking in the corner*

Me: Haha... *sweatdrops* Kukai, disclaimer please...

Kukai: Sure. Due to lacking on the author's behalf-

Me: Hey!

Kukai: -there is no scientific background on Nagihiko's condition, nor is this chapter meant to offend anyone.

Me: *grumbles* Please enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 18

Rima's POV

Think...think….I can call someone! I took my phone out and it almost fell out of my hands as the car jolted to a stop at a red light. I quickly opened the the small flip phone and called Amu with trembling fingers. It rang for what felt like eternity before she picked up.

"Rima?" she asked in a confused and worried tone. I couldn't speak around the lump in my throat. "Rima, what's wrong? Something's gone horribly wrong, hasn't it?!" she asked more frantically. All of a sudden the lump I had in my throat was gone and words and tears were spilling out of me.

"It's Nagi. He w-was trying to protect me from my father and he got injured in the process. And…." I started sobbing loudly.

"And?" Amu beckoned me on.

"And he lost so much blood. He needs blood." I managed to choke out in between sobs.

"What?" Amu said confusedly. "Then what's the problem? The hospital has the blood, right?" I started sobbing even harder at this.

"N-no they r-ran out of type AB blood!" I said, more tears flowing out. "We need some desperately, or else he might not live!" I tried my hardest to stop crying, but that didn't work.

"But that shouldn't be a problem. People with AB blood can receive both type A and type B blood." she said, trying to reason with the problem.

"But Nagi has a sensitive immune system, and if it doesn't match up, he could die." I said, almost hyperventilating.

"Oh, goodness!" she said. I could feel her starting to tear up on the other end as well. Suddenly there was a rustling sound from somewhere in her room and there was a pause. I think she was...talking to someone?

"...I have type AB blood." Tsukiyomi Ikuto's voice came out of the line. I didn't even question why he was at Amu's house at the moment.

"Could y-you please come to the h-hospital?" I said desperately, too scared to care that I sounded that way.

"Okay, I'm heading there right away." he said calmly. "Oh, and don't thank me about this until later." The beep sounding from my phone notified me that he had hung up. Thank goodness Amu lived near the hospital. Meanwhile, we had almost gotten to the hospital. I had never been the most superstitious person ever, but at that moment, I put my hands together and looked up at the sky through the window next to me. I could see the moon from there. 'Please, Kamisama, God, Buddha, Allah, Muhammad, Gandhi, George Washington, Akihito-sama, or whoever is up there or maybe even down here! Don't let Nagihiko Fujisaki die. Please!' I clenched my eyes tightly shut, clutched his hand, and prayed. I could hear his breathing get shallower as the time went on. The makeshift bandage was completely soaked through and was starting to stain a bright red. The time was dragging on as we got 5 meters from the hospital. My stomach starting churning with nausea. What was going to happen?

Amu's POV

I hung up with the phone call from Rima and grabbed a leaving Ikuto by the shirt. He gave me a look.

"What? You don't want me to save your friend's life?" he said seriously. "They said if I was too late, he may not live."

"That's not it!" I said, shaking my head vigorously. "Take me with you!" I yelled. I need to go." he sighed at this.

"That's up to you. It was never to me in the first place." he said. "But since you're coming with me…" he smirked and swept me off of my feet. He kicked my window open.

"Hey! Watch it! That's my window you're breaking! I will dump you if that breaks." I threatened him, whisper-yelling.

"Sorry, we're in a rush." he said and jumped off the edge. We ran- no scratch that- he ran towards the hospital and we were there in a mere 5 minutes. Ikuto put me down right in front of the gate and dashed in. With trembling fingers both from the sudden breeze that chilled me and fear for my friend, I quickly flipped open my phone and dialed Utau's number. Pick up, pick up, pick up!

"Hello?" said Utau's voice on the line. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. The lump in my throat was preventing me from speaking. "Amu?" I coughed and finally the words came rushing out.

"Nagi is in the hospital and there is some complication so Ikuto is donating blood for him and I'm really scared. Please come!" I said quickly.

"Hold on a moment, I'm coming." Utau's voice said over the phone and then the line was dead. I looked at my phone. Snapping out of my daze, I quickly rushed inside the hospital. I burst inside to find a bloody floor and a crying Rima, her small face buried into her equally small hands.

"Rima!" I shouted and ran towards her. She looked up at me and more tears started running down her face. When I reached her, I crouched down in front of her so that she was facing me. I could hear my heart pounding as my fear steadily increased. I gripped her arm comfortingly and she lifted her face out of her hands to look at me, her eyes a deep, swollen red. "Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"N-no." she said, hiccuping and crying even harder than before. I got up slightly and enveloped her in an embrace, causing her to cry more.

"It's going to be okay." I lied through my teeth as the quiet feeling of despair covered the atmosphere and tears started to form in my amber hues. I tried to blink them away, but more a more kept coming until I couldn't see the wall behind Rima because it was so blurry. She clung to me for dear life, clutching the life out of my coat, almost like it was her lifeline.

"H-help." was her only word as she sobbed for longer. I felt a tear trickle down my right cheek and I stopped myself before I started bawling too. Suddenly, the doors to the hospital door bursted open and Utau, her hair in one messy French braid, dragged a rather tired-looking Souma-senpai through the door. She looked around for a moment, and spotting us, she walked quickly forward and looked at both of us.

"...It'll be okay." she said confidently, with a strong look. I felt the tears that I had been holding in start to well up again.

"So...what now? Do we just wait until the surgery is over?" Souma-senpai asked. No one answered for a moment. The mood completely dampened and Utau glared at him. "Oops." he muttered quietly. Rima calmed down enough at one point to ask a question.

"Can we move closer the operation room?" she said in a dry voice.

"Of course! Let's go." Utau said and started pushing us in the direction the trail of blood led in. She then looked back at Souma-senpai and said,

"Why don't you go get poor Rima some water, Souma?" I looked back at him as well. "And for Amu too." I saw him about to retort to that but he closed his mouth.

"Right…." he said and turned around the direction of the water dispenser. Within a few short strides, we were right in front of the door where the trail of blood led through. Rima whimpered at the sight of the trail growing thicker. Souma-senpai came with water and gave some to both me and Rima. Suddenly the doors bursted open and a grim-looking doctor followed by a blank-faced Ikuto came through the doors. The doctor sighed pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He then looked to Ikuto, who was quietly standing there. Neither of them said anything.

"...Well?! How'd it go?" I asked urgently, looking back at Rima, whose eyes were starting to fill with tears again.

"Fujisaki Nagihiko-san is…"

* * *

Me: ...And there you have it!

Rima: Are you flipping kidding me?!

Me: *cowers in corner* Please don't kill me!

Utau: *sighs* That's what you get for doing stuff like that.

Kukai: *sweatdrop* Yeah, no offense, but you kinda really deserved it.

Me: Urusai!

Ikuto: Gosh I'm tired after doing everything. *yawns* Review please, or the author may get eaten alive by the shrimp.

Rima: I'm not a shrimp!

Ikuto: Sure you aren't.

* * *

Hello everyone! It's the author of this story! How is the story so far? As you read above, this chapter was not meant to offend anyone nor was it directed at a certain group! If you were offended by anything, please let me know, and I will change it! Reviews are always appreciated and thank you for reading this story!

 **Arigato gozaimasu~**


	19. Chapter 19

Me: *is being tortured by Rima*

Amu: This chapter took forever!

Me: I'm fresh out of inspiration, I'm dead.

Ikuto: Shut up, you're overreacting.

Me: *growls* You shut up, you're not writing this! I could wipe you off the face of this fanfiction if you'd prefer!

Kukai: *laughs awkwardly* Thanks go out to PixieChangling16 for a short but great review.

Amu: And also to taffy20 for a whole package deal of Follow, Favorite, **and** Review!

Utau: The author doesn't own anything except for the plot and her computer.

Me: Actually, I don't technically own my computer... *cries*

* * *

Chapter 19

Ikuto's POV

" **Fujisaki Nagihiko-san is…"** the doctor paused. "... unconscious." Everyone in the waiting room took a sharp intake of air, unbeknownst to them or not. I myself did so, even though I had known for a while, since I was there as he was being operated on. Amu looked to me and then to her best friend of 5 years, who was crying again. The doctor waited for a moment before deciding to speak again. "However, he is alive and breathing, albeit a little pale. His condition is stable, thanks to Tsukiyomi-san's generous blood donation...but we aren't sure when he'll wake up. We have contacted his legal guardian, and she will be here any minute. Then…" the doctor nodded, as if just acknowledging the group's presence, and walked away, probably towards another part of the hospital. Rima started laughing while crying, almost.

"R-rima?" Amu stuttered, somewhat startled at her friend's strange reaction. I shook my head and smirked.

"Mood swings, much? Are you on your period or something, shrimp?" All three of the girls simultaneously turned to glare at me. I sweatdropped and stepped back a little to avoid being pummeled by Utau. Thankfully, all three of them turned away. I sighed in relief. Suddenly, Amu snapped her head around, and I jumped. 'I told you, she's not a shrimp!' she mouthed at me. 'Haha...sorry." I mouthed back, shrugging. 'I forgot.' I mouthed again. 'Liar!' she mouthed at me and stuck her tongue out playfully. 'How'd you know?' I mouthed sarcastically, rolling my eyes. She chuckled and I smiled. She turned back toward Utau and Rima, who were sitting in silence, staring at the wall. I swiftly walked towards the guy name Kukai Souma, who was currently dating my sister. "Hey-" I said, tapping his shoulder. He looked back towards me.

"What? Who, me?" he asked cluelessly. I mentally facepalmed. How did my sister, of all people, fall in love with this air headed jock? He laughed. "Who am I kidding, of course it's me. What do you need, nii-san?" I just stared blankly for a few seconds at his easygoing attitude.

"Come outside, I want to talk to you." At this, he just shrugged and lifted himself out of the stiff waiting room chair.

"Fine by me." he walked past me towards the door and I followed suit.

Utau's POV

I silently watched as my older brother led my boyfriend out the door of the hospital and sighed, closing my eyes. 'God, I hope he doesn't say anything stupid that ruins our relationship.' Honestly, the nerve of older siblings sometimes. I slowly peeped an eye open and looked towards Rima. The poor girl was clutching the hems of her skirt like it was a lifeline. I was about to open my mouth but Amu cut in first.

"What's wrong, Rima?" she asked worriedly. Rima brought her hands to her face like she was going to start crying again.

"What if...Nagi's mom doesn't let us date anymore because of this?" she said, trying not to cry but sadly, failing.

"Rima, it's okay, you know how nice Nagi's mother is. Except she's a little strict, but still! A pretty decent mother-in-law I think!" Amu teased, trying to get somewhat of a reaction out of her friend.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Rima lifted her face and attempted to scowl, but she was blushing, not to mention crying.

"Wow, my idiot of an older brother was right for once! Rima, are you sure you aren't on your period?" said girl glared at me like she was trying to burn a hole through me. I just laughed, along with Amu. "Woah, calm down Rima, I was joking! Keep your spirits up!" I choked out between fits of laughter.

"You better have been." she crossed her arms and pouted. Suddenly the doors bursted open and a beautiful woman with a mix of navy and purple hair walked in, whom I assumed to be Nagihiko's mother, followed by Kukai and Ikuto, who had left a little earlier. The woman spotted us and started walking straight up to the three of us with a scary look on her face, almost like she was angry. Her gaze quickly flickered around us and then sharply focused on Rima, who gulped and froze on the spot. She reached us and stopped. Rima cast her eyes, which were starting to fill up with tears again, down towards the ground. She clenched her eyes shut, expecting a lecture or perhaps a forceful amount of words that would tell her to break up with her beloved boyfriend. Instead, she received a harsh yet gentle hug.

"Rima-chan, it will be alright." she soothed with a soft yet commanding voice. At these words of comfort, Rima's body started shaking and tears leaked out of her eyes as she returned the hug. No fierce glares or accusations. No tension, and a sudden aura of calm enveloped the room.

"Thank you…" Rima whispered not very quietly, still trying to stop crying. Sobs racked her small body. They just stood there and hugged, while the rest of us awkwardly shifted from foot to foot, trying not to disturb the family-like, warm scene. But, to be quite honest, it was pretty hard. Finally, after what seemed like eternity of hugging and awkwardly shifting feet, Rima's crying ceased and the hug dropped.

"Why don't we head in to see his condition?" Nagihiko's mother suggested to Rima. Not knowing how to respond, she just nodded and the two of them headed to his room. Amu soon followed suit, Ikuto tagging along after her. I looked over at Kukai, who was still standing silently. I quietly walked up behind him and hugged his tall frame. His face grew red and I giggled slightly but covered it with a cough.

"What's wrong? That's the longest I've heard you gone all day without talking." he rolled his eyes.

"Nothing's wrong, I was just thinking."

Kukai's POV

"You, of all people, think?" I rolled my eyes again at my girlfriend's bewildered tone. I faked a slightly hurt and agitated tone.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" I unwrapped her arms from me and turned around to hug her from the front, a challenging and amused look in my eyes. She blushed and looked away.

"I don't know." she said, still refusing to look at me. "By the way, what **did** Ikuto say when he dragged you outside earlier?" I sweatdropped.

*Earlier, when Kukai was dragged outside by Ikuto*

"...So, what are you going to tell me that was so important that we had to come outside for you to tell me, nii-san?" I asked, trying to make myself stop trembling. (From fear.) I glanced over at the slightly taller figure next to me. "If it's a standard 'If you make my sister cry…' talk, then I'll have to refuse." I said pointedly, trying to sound confident and not like I was about to pee my pants. He shot a glance at me.

"And why would that be so?" he said in a creepy tone. I gulped and tried not to make eye contact with him.

"Because I have confidence that I can take care of her." God, I felt like my voice was crawling back into my vocal cords. I laughed awkwardly and waited for a response. He looked at me as though he was amused and chuckled.

"Unfortunately, that's not what I called you out here for, though you should be expecting that coming sometime soon." I sighed in relief. "But-" Oh great, here it comes. "I **will** kill you if you make my sister cry." he said with a sinister smile. I gulped and nodded.

"Yes sir, I will remember that." I said. He glared challengingly at me.

"You better."

*Meets up with Nagi's mother and heads inside before lecture*

"Well….let's just say a lot of wisdom coming from a person who's a year older than me." I laughed awkwardly. "Hey, can I call you by your first name?" I asked, changing the subject abruptly.

"If I like the sound of it." she looked up at me, an amused glint in her eyes. "Give it a whirl." she said. I unwrapped one arm from around her and scratched the back of my neck nervously.

"Utau?" I said, a bit hesitant to do so. She gave me an unamused look that read, 'Are you being serious?' I laughed at my own lack of courage and coughed. "Utau." I said. She blushed and looked away. "Utau." I said a bit louder. No response, just more blushing. "Utau."

"What?!" she yelled, flustered and annoyed at my frequent name calling. I grinned like an idiot and laughed at her cute expression.

"Utau Hoshina, I am in love with you." I grinned cheekily. She glared and shoved me off of her, her embarrassment having reached its height. She swiftly walked towards the room everyone else was in, hair flowing behind.

"Are you coming or not?" she turned around to face me, face still quite a bit flushed but calmer.

"Okay, I'm coming."

* * *

Me: Yay! Nagi is alive! (unconscious, but still alive!)

Amu: Otherwise, Rima would've killed you.

Me: I know. (-_-;)

Kukai: What the heck is up with the ending?!

Me: *shrugs* For the Kutau fans out there.

Kukai: No duh.

Me: Well then, I have no idea what you're asking so...

Ikuto: *rolls eyes* Please review, it helps these dragging chapters get out faster.

Me: Shut up Ikuto!

* * *

Hello hello! It's me, AwkwardAuthor25! It's already nearing 4 months since I've started this story, and I still don't know where it's heading~ T^T However, thank you for your continued support! I am here to inform you, that updates may become slower. (I think I'm the only one sad but, whatever!) I am **NOT** discontinuing the story, so don't worry, what little readers I have! (I love you! Not in the creepy stalker like way, you know what I mean!) Due to summer math and family trips, updates will become less frequent, but I swear I will finish this story!

Arigato Gozaimasu~ T^T


	20. Chapter 20

Me: I'm tired. I think I'm dead.

Ikuto: If you're like that, then quit whining and sleep.

Me: Can't. Must. Publish. Chapter.

Utau: Wow...do you want coffee?

Me: No. I was away for too long~ I missed writing. T^T And my readers.

Ikuto: If you have any.

Me: Shut up.

Kukai: Thank you to for... everything? (Literally) And thanks to PixieChangling16 for another review.

Me: I don't own anything except the plot...I guess.

Amu: Enjoy!

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Chapter 20

Rima's POV

I quietly looked up from the pale hand I was clutching to see Utau and senpai entering the room. Utau quietly walked up to me.

"I think it's best for us to go home now." she glanced at the clock. It was 11:08. She smiled sympathetically and continued talking. "Come on, Nagihiko wouldn't want you to miss school tomorrow, would he?" I strained to sit up to look at her properly and hesitantly nodded. "Besides, he has his mother to take care of him, and you'll see him soon." she bowed respectfully to Nagi's mother and guided me to stand up.

"...But where would I go?" I asked to no one in particular, my voice hoarse from not speaking and crying. The room grew silent. Well, it makes sense that it did, since well, my "father" is in prison and my mother is not in such a stable condition right now. For safety measures, she had been taken into the mental hospital and the earliest I'd be able see her was 5 days later. Better than never...or is it?

"You can come stay with me." Amu said brightly, smiling at me. "And Utau can sleep over too, since well, all three of us have school tomorrow, we might as well?" she was grinning like a mad person and I giggled slightly at this.

"Oh yeah, by the way, mentioning school, I'm transferring to your's tomorrow." Utau's older brother cut in. All of the gazes flickered over to him.

"...?!...Ehhhhh?!" ...was Amu's reaction, while Utau just rolled her eyes and senpai stood there, eyes blinking in shock. After realizing the situation, he gulped. Amu giggled and patted his back consolingly. "Good luck." she giggled out. Senpai just sighed and sank into a chair.

"Stop overreacting-" Utau scolded him. "-you're being childish." he pouted and stuck his tongue out at her, making all of us laugh.

"Alright, so are you two coming or not?" Amu teased and grabbed both our hands. She pulled me up and grinned at me. I smiled weakly and let her drag me out the door after bowing to Nagi's mother. Utau attempted to protest for a moment before letting Amu drag her across the room and out the quite small door. The three of us walked towards Amu's house.

"Will your parents be okay with us staying over?" Utau looked over at Amu to read her expression. She froze a bit and laughed awkwardly, still clutching both of our hands. I whipped my gaze over at the pink-haired girl and eyed her suspiciously. "Well?" she asked again, raising her eyebrow.

"Ahaha...well…um.." she clenched her eyes shut and muttered something. Utau and I just kept eyeing her suspiciously until she repeated herself. Which, by the way, **still** wasn't loud enough.

"Amu, speak louder, we can't hear you." Utau said, frustration apparent in her voice. I remained silent, although I was thinking the same thing in my mind.

"Well….my parents don't really know I left the house in the first place…" she muttered just loud enough so that we could hear her. I gawked at her in sheer disbelief. I glanced over at Utau, whose face had the same expression as mine.

" **What?!** " we screamed simultaneously at her. She laughed slightly and resumed dragging us. "Then how'd you even get **out**?" we both asked.

"Well, Ikuto picked me up and kicked the windows open and carried me to the hospital." she acted like that was a normal think. I blinked. Right, she was with Ikuto when I called her. I facepalmed with my leftover hand.

"Then how do expect us to be able to sleep over?!" Utau yelled and abruptly lowered her voice. Amu shrugged.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?! Like, what? You expect us to able to just prance in through the front door and your parents will be like, 'Hey Rima-chan~ Oh my goodness is that Utau Hoshina? Oh, they're at our house at 11:30 on a Sunday? Oh it's okay, of course they can sleep over~!' Who does that?!" I ranted. I stopped myself and looked over at her. And groaned.

"Um...maybe not exactly like that but I think they'll be okay with it." Amu forced out a laugh again and briefly let go of my hand to scratch the back of her neck. I rolled my eyes.

"Did you not get the sarcasm in my voice or are you ignoring it?" I demanded, hands on hips, cheeks puffed out with a determined look plastered over my features. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Utau extremely agreeing with me through the look in her eyes.

"Eh? That was sarcasm?" Amu asked, sounding extremely surprised and unprepared. I sighed deeply and facepalmed again. I muttered something under my breath so only Utau could hear and the ever-so clueless Amu couldn't. Utau giggled and sighed also.

"Well I guess we're just going have to see, aren't we?" Utau said, all 'smiley' while staring at the sky as she was stretching. (A/N: The cliche anime scene thingy whatchamacallit!)

"You're actually going to go with this, Utau?" I asked incredulously, my face twisting into a slight distasteful scowl. Utau chuckled and turned to face me with a wink. I took half a step back at the extremely cliche expression on her face and sighed again. "You two are crazy. I mean all offense intended." I grumbled and started ahead.

"Eh? Hidoi yo, Rima-chan!" Utau fake-whined. I groaned at the 'chan' slipped behind my name. Noticing this, Utau grinned cheekily and pinched one of my cheeks with her fingers. I blushed like a little kid that was being teased by her parents.

"H-hurry up, let's go!" I yelled and started walking faster.

"Wait for me, Rima-chan~!" Utau cooed. I could practically hear the smirk on her face. Now I could see resemblance between Ikuto and Utau. Well, more like hear, but that doesn't exactly make sense.

"Eh? Wait for **me** , you two!" Amu called and ran to catch up to us. I looked back at her and stuck my tongue out at her.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked a few minutes later in front of her house. I gave Amu a glance. She was gasping for air, clutching her knees and breathing heavily. Utau eyed her curiously as well.

"Well I was thinking we could go back through the windows-" I shot her a glare, half-jokingly and half-actually. "-Just kidding." she sighed. "Who am I kidding, I'll just tell my parents. But not about Ikuto."

"Why? Are you worried they'll embarrass you in front of us? Or is because you two did someth-" Amu cut Utau off.

"What? No!" Amu's face was was as red as a strawberry as she sputtered. "It's because the talk will get too long then. Gosh Utau, seriously, do something about with the state of your mind." she muttered the last sentence, making the both of us laugh.

"You can't help after being exposed to cameras, scandals, and the weird world for a while of your life." Utau said with an innocent-looking smile. Amu rolled her eyes, still flustered.

"Whatever." she huffed, blowing out some of the hair out from her face. "Well, let's go inside I guess?"

"Fine, let's go." I sighed and watched as Amu opened the door. We walked inside and Amu closed the door behind us. I saw her mom sitting at the dining table.

"Amu?" What are you doing outside?!" she asked, alarmed. She opened her mouth to speak again before she saw us a gave Amu a look.

"Told you." I muttered.

"Mom, let me explain." Amu pleaded and looked at her mom, who just sighed and sat back down.

"Go ahead." Amu gulped, determined expression on face, I could almost see the words forming around her head.

"Well, a few hours ago…." I stared at my feet trying to drown out the part about Nagi and my parents. Amu gave my hand a squeeze, making me smile a little bit. "...And so that's why we're here now." she concluded her explanation. 's expression softened a bit.

"Oh I see." she glanced at me. "Well, you three should go upstairs and sleep, we'll discuss things in the morning. Plus, you don't want to be late to school tomorrow." (A/N: **Raise your hand if you want parents like this! T^T** ) With that, Amu herded us upstairs and shut her bedroom door. She sighed.

"I'm gonna sleep. Good night." All three of us said, collapsed on her bed and laughed for a little bit.

"Good night." Amu mumbled and turned off the light. But even after that, I remained awake for a while.

* * *

Me: I wrote more than half of this today.

Ikuto: Then publish more often.

Me: Meh, procrastination.

Kukai: Yeah, I don't think she's going to, nii-san.

Me: You can shut up as well.

Utau: Please ignore these idiots. And by the way, please review!

* * *

Hello, this is AwkwarAuthor25. As of now I am extremely jet-lagged and sleep-deprived, halfway across the world from America. T^T

Thank you so much for supporting this story. I can't believe it has 20 chapters already. Thank you so much, again, for everything. Every single comment helps! Please continue to enjoy the story even though it may be to weird for you. (I'm sorry I'm extremely weird T^T) I think I'll go to sleep now.

Arigato gozaimasu~


	21. Chapter 21

Me: I've been away way too long...T^T

Ikuto: Your fault for not writing.

Me: Shut up.

Utau: Ikuto, stop it, you sound stupid.

Kukai: Special thanks go out from the author to starbornshine, yy01, and NevaehAngel for follows!

Utau: And Chellsz for both favoriting and following!

Me: Sorry so much for the delay, and please enjoy!

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Chapter 21

Amu's POV

"Hinamori Amu! Wake up or you'll be late to school~!" I groaned and attempted to sit up. Keyword? Attempted. A little 'deja vu' I'm feeling here. I felt a weight across my body. I lazily lifted my head and found a mess of blond hair resting on my hair on my knees, the small figure under blanket that was visible moving up and down, matching my breaths. I giggled lightly and shook the little shoulder.

"Rima~ wake up!" No response. "Rima!" I yelled louder. Said girl flinched and burrowed deeper into the covers. I sighed and dragged the blankets off of the bed. This revealed a sleeping Rima curled into a fetal position. I laughed and fondly glanced at her sleeping figure. ' _Wait...where's Utau?'_ I glanced around the room and finally my eyes landed on a already fully-dressed Utau scrolling through her phone, earbuds in her ears. Quite possibly and probably to block out my mother's constant yelling.

"Amu! Are you up yet?!" she yelled. I could hear her climbing a few stairs to get a better "yelling point". I saw Utau crack up at this. I guess she could still hear mom through her earbuds.

"Yes! I'm awake!" I yelled back and glanced at the clock beside my bed. 7:00 A.M. "What the…?" I muttered. "Mom?!" I yelled down.

"What?"

"Why did you wake me so early?!" I practically screamed. I waited. Huh, no response. Utau finally bursted out in laughter, wiping tears out of her eyes. I glared at her playfully and stuck my tongue out at her. She just waved at me, finally acknowledging my presence and gestured for me to get dressed. I complied and dragged my feet to my dresser. I grabbed one of the many school uniforms hanging inside it and quickly changed into it. I then dragged Utau off of my chair to help me to wake Rima.

"Rima!" I tried yelling into her ear. She flinched again and flipped her body around, slapping me in the process. "Ow…" I backed away slowly and sighed. Utau giggled and shook her pointer finger.

"That's not how you're supposed to do it~!" I gave her a look. She pouted at me. "What, you don't believe me?" I shrugged, suggesting that I actually didn't believe her. "Fine, let me show you."

"Be my guest." I said as emotionlessly and nonchalantly as I could. But truth be told, I was kind of interested. Kind of. I watched as the older girl bended over smallest of us. I stopped breathing for a moment, interested in what Utau would do to wake Rima. I waited.

"Rima~" I sighed, that's what I was doing before… "-chan." Oops, spoke too soon. Said blond shot up and glared in the direction of the voice.

"Wow…" I said out of pure amazement. I looked at Utau. She turned and smirked at me. Which, to say the least…reminded me of Ikuto. Bleh. What a way to start the morning.

"I told you it would work." she said matter-of-factly and returned to her phone. "Now get Rima- **chan** dressed and ready to go to school." Rima growled at the emphasis on the honorific. Wow. I never knew Rima was **this much** of a non-morning person.

"Rima…" I started out carefully. She whipped her head around and glared at me, her eyes extremely swollen. I laughed awkwardly. "Why don't you get dressed?" I pointed at her nicely ironed uniform.

"Fine…" she grumbled and stumbled to the bathroom. I chuckled and Rima poked her messy bed head through the door. "Don't laugh!" she barked and slammed the door. I gulped but resumed chuckling, a little quieter. Utau joined.

"Well at least she listens to you." she said while laughing. I nodded in agreement, laughing to much to form words.

"She's like a little kid." I managed to get out. Utau nodded, one arm crossed over the over, still looking at the small screen. I wonder if her eyes hurt yet. I opened my mouth to speak when the bathroom burst open and an (extremely) annoyed Rima stormed out.

"Who're you calling a little kid?!" she whisper-screamed. I mentally thanked my mother who was working downstairs in the kitchen for preventing Rima from blowing up my eardrums. Then I noticed she was wearing the cutest towel hairband. It was pink with a little bow in the front. I had to bite my lip to keep myself from squealing loud and high enough to break every glass object in the house. I took an extremely deep breath and gulped to calm myself down.

"You..?" I said and laughed, trying to pretend I didn't just almost kill off the human race. She huffed.

"I'm not a little kid!" she yelled and stomped back into the bathroom. I sighed with a slight bit of laughter rolling off of my tongue. I turned back to Utau, who'd lifted her head for a split second at our little "war" and looked back down at her phone.

"Utau, what are you looking for so deeply in your phone that you have to make a hole through it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She looked up and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, it's about yesterday...remember how you heard from Rima that Kukai and I had a race?" I nodded. "Well, I kinda sorta tripped over someone's foot and had to be carried." she sighed. "And I'm an idol, so I was scrolling through literally every newspaper company I know for scandals." she laughed a little bit and sighed. "Sometimes being an idol is tough." she stretched her neck and got up and off of the chair. She glanced down at her phone. "The time is 7:13."

"Only? That's the earliest I've been up since...I don't even know when!" I was applauding myself quietly when Utau decided to say something that totally (somehow) ruined my mood.

"Really?" she gasped. "Wow. This is the latest I got to sleep in since...grade 6… I think!" Huh...well that's a mysterious one loss to me… Rima came out of the bathroom not too long after and changed into the school uniform. Speaking of which, the uniform consisted of a plain white button up, a black skirt (or pants/shorts for guys), and a tie that identified your grade: emerald green for first years, turquoise for second years, and navy blue for third years. Girls could wear knee-length socks or leg warmers. (Although I have to say the former was preferred to the latter.)

"Well, are we going to school or not?" Rima asked, a little irritated. I laughed and we left the house after a quick breakfast. The walk to school was pretty much silent, each of deep in our own thoughts. As we reached our destination, no one mentioned it, but I could clearly feel Nagi's empty position.

"Whoo."

"Ah!" I whipped my head around and glared at the laughing feline-like figure that was none other than Ikuto. "What the heck?!" I whisper-yelled at him, not wanting to attract the attention of the 1000 students that attended our school this early in the morning. ' _Too late.'_ I could already hear the whispers reaching my ears. I sighed. "What do you want Ikuto?" I asked, crossing my arms. I looked over his shoulder to spot Akiko and her friends whispering and fawning over Ikuto already. I rolled my eyes and looked Ikuto in the eyes again, waiting for a response. He shrugged and started walking next to us. I sighed in irritation and resumed talking with Rima and Utau like nothing had just happened. (Which nothing really did, unless you count Ikuto.)

"Why so late, Hinamori, Mashiro, Hoshina?" a certain green-eyed boy greeted us and I smirked in Utau's direction, which, she was kind of turning red. I giggled and waved at him.

"Sorry, good morning, Souma-senpai!" I grabbed Rima's hand and ran towards him. Rima gave me an exasperated glance but obliged.

Rima's POV

All five of us split up to our respective classrooms. (Well actually, Ikuto was kicked out near the office since it was his first day.) I turned my head to a familiar spot where Nagi usually was, just to realize...I forgot he wasn't there. I buried my head in my hands and sighed. This was going to take a while to get used to. As I sat down in my seat, the bell rang and the teacher walked in. The chatter died away and the teacher cleared his throat...and started taking attendance. I looked out the window to pass the time until my name was called.

"...Fujisaki Nagihiko." I looked toward the teacher. "No Fujisaki today? Anyone know why?" my classmates started whispering, already making bets on why he was absent.

"I bet Mashiro would know!" a boy snickered. I shot a glare at him. The teacher turned to me with an eyebrow raised. I stared straight back at the slightly pudgy middle-aged woman.

"Nagihiko is injured and therefore cannot come to school today." I gritted out. More whispers.

"Can't one come to school even after they're injured?" asked the class president, raising her glasses. I rolled my eyes and let out an extremely short sarcastic laugh at how jealous she sounded. Just another girl that was jealous that I was dating Nagi. I gave her a look and she glared at me.

"Fine, since the class president requested, I'll explain with more depth on why Nagi-" I paused and gave a little time before continuing. "-hiko is absent today." I smirked as I spotted the class president seething in anger. "He was stabbed last night and lost too much blood. He is unconscious and his condition is unstable, so he is unable attend class today." I crossed my arms and slumped in my seat. Gasps. ' _Sick of that already.'_

"Thank you, Mashiro-san, for your explanation. Can you take the homework to Fujisaki-san today?" The teacher asked.

"Yes." I grumbled and slumped further into my seat.

"Thank you."

*Timeskip to after school brought to by Ramen*

I walked out the gates and waited for Amu and Utau to show up. I stared at my watch for about a minute. Tapping my foot impatiently, I looked around.

"Hi, sorry we're late." Amu panted. I glared at her, as if asking why she was so late. She laughed awkwardly and turned her head to glare at Ikuto. "Because **someone** drove a hoard of girls to my locker!" she yelled, almost directly at him. I cracked up and looked to Utau.

"Same case with ours, just it was Hoshina in this case." Souma-senpai said suddenly, bursting into the conversation.

"Damn you, Tsukiyomi siblings." Amu muttered. Everyone laughed except, well the two of them, who just stood confused. I raised an eyebrow and we all walked to the hospital.

"Who are you here to see?" the receptionist asked.

"Um..Fujisaki Nagihiko." I said. She started typing. "Ah, we know room he's in, thank you." I bowed and dragged everyone towards the familiar hospital room. I sighed and read the name underneath the room number. While Amu opened the door.

"I don't think this is Nagi's room…" Amu said through her teeth and quickly closed the door to the room. I sighed. I didn't want to go back to the receptionist.

"Um..are you guys looking for someone? You look to be my age." we all looked back in surprise.

* * *

Me: Dun-dun-dun *gets slapped by readers' feels*

Ikuto: Ha!

Me: *rubs cheek while crying* I'm sorry, I left it off this way so could come back soon.

Rima: *slaps my other cheek*

Me: *cries*

Amu: *sigh* Please review for this weirdo here.


	22. Chapter 22

Me: Ahahaha... I'm so sorry T^T I have school starting tomorrow. *cries*

Cast: *sweatdrops*

Rima: What is up with this chapter anyway?

Me: Um, I don't know? I was just writing and it turned out this way.

Rima: *grumbles*

Utau: Special thanks go out to: VampireWitch123 for favoriting and following, and following our unworthy author, Juria5desu for following, and Anime in Love FOREVER, Emilie.L.F (Guest) , and Guest for reviewing!

Kukai: Even though our author is extremely lazy.

Me: T^T I don't own Shugo Chara...Peach Pit does. But I do own a character that will be showing up in this chapter.

Amu: Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 22

Rima's POV

" **Um..are you guys looking for someone? You look to be my age." we all looked back in surprise.**

I gasped, covering my mouth and stumbling back. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea.) There he was, the Fujisaki Nagihiko we all knew, famous smile plastered over his face, pretending as though he didn't know a thing.

"Nagi?" Amu muttered with a look on her face. "Nagihiko Fujisaki?" he seemed surprised. "You're Nagihiko Fujisaki, right?" he looked at her.

"That's correct." he smiled. "Can I ask how you know my name?" I stared, mouth hanging straight open. He actually didn't remember?! What was this, a cliche movie? He turned his attention to me, as if asking a question through his eye. I clamped my mouth shut, crossed my arms, and turned away sharply.

"Well, can you take us to your hospital room? We'd like to talk to you." Utau said, observing my reaction.

"Sure, since you all seem to know who I am but I would like to know who you are." he said with a smile. How could he be **peaceful** right now? Well, there goes a dent to my pride! You spend 4 hours crying over your boyfriend and he wakes up not remembering you. So much for the class president being jealous of me. Maybe I won't go to school tomorrow. I clicked my tongue. He glanced at me and leaned down to whisper something in her ear. Fortunately or unfortunately, I heard it. "Um, who is the small blonde staring at me? She doesn't really seem to like me." I growled and whipped my head back.

"Are we going to your hospital room or not?!" I snapped, hands on hips and full-on glaring at everyone. Ikuto opened his mouth and closed it immediately as Utau elbowed him in the ribs harshly. Well, I guess working in front of cameras for a while gives you great sixth sense for air tension. Nagi stared at Utau and Ikuto for a moment as if pondering something.

"Are you two dating?" he asked. What the heck? Where'd my boyfriend go?! Both froze and gave him a harsh look. Amu and Souma-senpai bristled. I coughed. Well, Utau's gonna need to help him learn about the flow of conversation...after he gets beat up by her.

"Don't. Say. Such. Atrocious. Things." Utau and Ikuto gritted out at the same time. Nagi laughed.

"You don't have to deny it! You guys suit each other, you even said the same thing at the same time." I paled but laughed. He was going to die. Utau slammed the part of the wall next to his face and smiled creepily.

"Hey, fun fact Nagihiko: that guy" -she whipped a finger at Ikuto without taking her eyes off of Nagi (who was, in fact terrified and pale)- "and me over here? We're siblings, you understand?" he nodded. "And for your information, I'm dating that ding-dong over there." she huffed and pointed at Souma-senpai. Both of them started blushing. I rolled my eyes and tapped my foot impatiently. I coughed, attempting to grab the group's attention.

"Let's go. Now." I said. I rolled my eyes so many times already, I thought my eyeballs were going to pop out.

"Okay, okay. We're going, Rima." Nagi said. ' _Finally...wait what?! I thought…'_ I whipped my gaze towards him along with everyone else. His mouth turned into an 'O' shape. "Uh oh…." he grinned apologetically and sprinted through the hall towards an unknown destination. "Sorry, catch ya later, Rima, Amu!"

"Nagihiko Fujisaki!" I yelled after him. Damn the existence with long legs and fast running speeds that is also known as my boyfriend. I looked back and glared at nothing in particular. "You!" I yelled at Souma-senpai, who jumped at my sudden anger directed at him.

"Y-yes?" he stuttered, flinching as if I would explode on him. Pfft, yeah no, I was **totally** calm in this whole situation concerning everything to do with me! And if you couldn't guess, that was sarcasm. Still, it wasn't enough to make me explode-although the purplehead would argue otherwise- anyways!

"Go after him!" I yelled. Well, more like whisper-screamed. We were in a hospital after all. I didn't want to get kicked out for disturbing patients more than we already had.

"Yes ma'am!" Souma-senpai yelled and saluted me before disappearing down the hallway after the damned Nagihiko Fujisaki himself.

"Well then, shall we go now?" I turned back to look at the three that were awkwardly shuffling their feet and shifting from side to side. They sighed in relief almost simultaneously and nodded. Utau looked quite pissed, and to be honest, I really didn't blame her. After all, Nagi just did that even though he remembered everything. I would be mad if I was her. Well, I was still mad at him, maybe even more than Utau was. With one last gesture showing the two to follow me, I lead them in the direction Nagi and Souma-senpai had left in.

Utau's POV

I was glad to see that Nagihiko hadn't actually gone crazy or anything, but I was pretty sure a variety of people wanted to walk up to him and slap him across the face for well, everything. We walked into the right hospital room after a couple of times to find Kukai chatting with Nagihiko comfortably. I raised an eyebrow at the sight and walked over to the bed, which both of them were sitting on, side by side.

"So, would you like to explain everything now, Fujisaki-san?" I said, trying to stay calmed down even as I smacked both of them on the back of their heads.

"Hey, what'd you do that to me for?" Kukai grumbled at me. I sent him a sarcastic smile and placed my hands on my hips before turning to face the person in question. Who was, no doubt, trying to grasp for an explanation that wouldn't come out for some reason. I wonder what.

"Rima~ help me!" Nagihiko whisper-shouted. She sighed and started walking towards us. The "patient" sitting before me on the hospital bed gave me an apologetic smile as if telling me sorry because I wouldn't be able to scold him anymore. I smirked at him.

' _Yeah right, like hell Rima is going to let this go.'_ I thought as Rima, upon reaching her intended destination, smacked Nagihiko on the back of his head -albeit a little lightly- again.

"Stop stalling and just explain already, I want to hear it as well." she growled, looking extremely mad. I giggled lightly at the expression on her face. He sighed in defeat and looked at Amu for a last chance, but he was met with an amused look instead of help. I gestured for him to continue.

"1. I thought it would've been a good joke?" he laughed awkwardly looking at Rima for a response. Said girl was trembling, fists clenched, probably ready to beat her poor boyfriend up.

"A joke? A **joke**?!" she yelled and lunged at him, only to be caught by Amu. "Do you even know what happened after you passed out?" she stomped. Nagihiko flinched at this.

"Ah, um….sorry?" It wasn't a statement, but rather an inquisition directed at his extremely - **extremely** \- pissed girlfriend.

"If you think this is going to end with a simple sorry, then you're extremely wrong." Rima huffed, crossing her arms, tears welled up in both eyes. My guess was that they were tears of frustration mixed with relief.

"And?" I inquired him. "What was your reason for asking whether Ikuto and I were dating?" I asked. I know I used to have a brother complex but I really didn't like him anymore? After all, I **am** dating someone right now. I would kind of appreciate if no one brought up my not-so great past.

"Oh that was because, I always kind of wanted to say it?" he smiled and put his arms behind his head. I gave him a look and crossed my arms as if asking 'Why?'. "Well, I guess I just wanted to see the reaction, although I almost died for asking that question." he said and laughed quietly. To be honest, I was surprised that he could be laughing right now.

"Well now all five of us want to slap you across the face, so you accomplished that in the last 10 minutes or so. Congrats." Ikuto said, looking completely indifferent as he was saying this.

"So when are you getting out of the hospital?" Amu asked, still clutching a now exasperated and bored looking Rima with both arms. Nagihiko shrugged and thought still for a moment.

"I would think in about 2 or 3 days." Rima raised her eyebrow. "Well, probably tomorrow but they probably won't let me do PE for at least 2 weeks." he smiled disappointedly.

"You can **smile** while talking about that?" Rima yelled at him and he flinched, wincing. She threw off Amu's now looser arms and walked to the bed. After kicking Kukai off of the bed, she grabbed Nagihiko's injured arm and examined it closely before prodding at the bandage wrap. When she looked up to observe his facial expression, he smirked and pulled her into a hug. Rima reddened instantly and tried to get him off of her, but it was no use. I rolled my eyes. I could understand why she was so impatient earlier- romance doesn't seem interesting until it's your own.

"Ahem." a quite solid yet obviously fake cough made its way through the room and our attention turned to a young-looking nurse standing in the doorway, a smile on her face at the sight before her. Rima gave her an inquisitive glare through the crack between Nagihiko's arms. "I'm sorry to ruin the moment here, but I'm here for Fujisaki-kun's check-up!" she said with a cheerful voice, her smile growing even wider.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I lost track of time, Hanakawa-san!" Nagihiko said and let go of Rima, smiling at the nurse, whom I assumed was Hanakawa-san.

"Who are these wonderful people in your room, Fujisaki-kun?" she asked casually as she walked toward his hospital bed, which Rima quickly got off of.

"They're friends from my school."

"That's nice that they came to visit you. Please lift your arm so I can do the dressing on your wound again." she said kindly. After the dressing was done, she asked some routine questions and checked some vitals before standing up. "Well, it was nice meeting you all." she smiled. Then she did something unexpected: she leaned down and whispered something to Nagihiko so that none of could hear. He blushed and just nodded and the nurse waved at us before disappearing out the door. Rima was, no doubt, pissed at this.

"Who is she and where does she live?" AKA, 'How and where can I hunt her down?' was basically what Rima was asking. Nagihiko just stared at Rima fondly as if she were just cute.

"You know I only have eyes for you, Rima~" he said and winked. Cheesy much? Nagihiko pulled her into another hug.

"Hey, I have an idea." Rima said sarcastically. He raised an eyebrow. "Let's check if your dressing was done properly." she gritted out and squeezed the area around his upper arm. Nagihiko stayed silent and smiled up at her. "I guess you're okay then."

* * *

Rima: Fujisaki Nagihiko! *is extremely angry*

Nagi: Heh, I said I was sorry?

Rima: Sorry isn't gonna cut it!

Me: Oh yeah, as an extra, I own the kind nurse-san.

Rima: *growls*

Me: *backs away* Just so you guys know, she was an extra for this chapter and probably won't show up again.

Rima: She better be.

Kukai & Utau: Please review!

Me: And now as a prize, before I leave for school tomorrow (T^T), have a short "After Chapter"!

* * *

After Chapter:

Nagihiko's POV

"We're leaving!" an extremely mad but still as cute Rima declared and dragged everyone out the room.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." I said massaging my arm. It stung like crazy. But I guess it was worth the effort to see the pout on Rima's face. Not to mention the relief. I thought of what the nurse had said:

' _You're lucky, you have a very cute girlfriend! She looks kind of mad at you though. Good luck after getting out!'_

I was glad she'd said that...I'd need the good luck.


	23. Chapter 23

Me: Ohayo minna! Thank you so much for waiting such a long time! *bows*

Ikuto: Did anyone wait? *scratches ear*

Me: *ignores Ikuto* School has been killing me so I only had a little time to write here and there. T^T

Rima: *grumbling* Thanks go out to Anime in Love FOREVER and Amuto101, a guest for the reviews.

Amu: Nechigo always needs a little something to get her writing.

Nagi: *nods* Worst. Author. Ever!

Me: It's not my fault! T^T

Utau: Sureeeeeee. Nechigo doesn't own us. Thank goodness.

Me: What's that supposed to mean?! Plus, I own the OCs!

Utau: *ignores* Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 23

Amu's POV

Rima and I walked to school together and split up to go to our separate lockers. Curse us having different homeroom teachers. I just stopped at my locker and grabbed some textbooks before continuing on my way.

I yawned as I walked down the hallway where my classroom was. I heard a series of constant taps of shoes behind me as someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned back to see that it was Rima, who had surprisingly caught up with me.

"Hm?" I asked, rubbing my eyes in an attempt to get awake. She gave me a look before I gestured for her to continue.

"Ikuto's looking for you." she said. It was my turn to give the look now. She shrugged and opened her mouth to speak again. "Also, do you know where Nagi is?" she asked. Poor him. His girlfriend would kill him before he died of natural causes.

"I actually don't know where he-" I stopped short at said boy creeping past Rima behind her back. He then noticed that I had stopped and waved his arms around in an alarmed manner. Rima raised an eyebrow. "-is… heh." I lamely finished my sentence, sweatdropping. Eyebrow still raised, Rima whipped around and caught Nagi sneaking away red-handed (Or red-footed (?))

"You little-" Rima growled as I winced and quickly removed myself from the situation, walking towards my classroom. Upon reaching the classroom, I spotted a hoard of girls covering the door. The sight immediately put a scowl on my face reminding me of how I'd almost suffocated yesterday because of these girls. I decided to do this the hard way and shove past the fangirls.

"Senpai, why are you in our classroom? You're a third year student, aren't you?" rang out the familiar voice of Saaya. I cringed at the high-tone girly girl voice.

"Yeah, Tsukiyomi-kun~ we should go back to our hallway! The bell will ring soon." I could pretty much imagine this girl twirling her hair and batting her eyelashes. I sighed, more fangirls yelling random comments around me. Not that I was listening to any of the stuff they said. I cleared my throat. No one heard me.

"Excuse me." I mumbled irritably. A few fangirls around me heard and whipped their heads back to glare at me before their sight magically snapped back towards the figure sitting in the center of the room in what looked like….my seat? I groaned in frustration.

"AHHHHH YOU'RE SO CUTE TSUKIYOMI-SENPAI!~" an extremely annoying screeched right next to my ear. I growled in a poor attempt to keep my temper down. But then again, I **did** say _poor_ attempt.

"THERE ARE SOME OF US WHO DON'T CARE SO WILL YOU FLIPPING _**EXCUSE ME**_?!" Everyone stopped short to glare at me. Even people outside peaked their heads in, curious of what was going on.

"Pfft." I heard laughter come from my seat. I fumed as I shoved past the still glaring girls and placed my hands on my hips. ' _Wait, the girl said-'_ and there was Tsukiyomi Ikuto, plopped down on my desk looking comfortable, bored, and now amused, staring straight at me. "Morning, Amu." he said and waved at me with a smirk.

"Ikuto. Tsukiyomi." I gritted out through my teeth and his smirk became **even** wider at he looked at my enraged, stiff body.

"Yes, strawberry?" he asked casually as if he hadn't just wreaked havoc on my first class of the day. Some of the girls gasped at the pet name. I slammed my hand down on the desk and he jumped, falling off of the desk and hitting his head on a chair. "Ow." he said and got up, dusting himself off. However, the smirk was still on his face.

"Stop calling that pet name and freaking get yourself out of my classroom and take these fangirls with you unless you want me to crush you like a blueberry." I said, a clearly forced smile on my face. He pouted, causing the million fangirls to squeal and nearly make my ears bleed. He then leaned towards my ear closely.

"You shouldn't speak to your boyfriend that way~" he whined quietly. I felt heat rush to my cheeks and stopped myself -barely- from punching him in the stomach. (instinctively)

"Sh-shut up. I can if I want to. Plus...what the heck? Do these girls even know you're dating me?" He was quiet for a little. I snorted. "I'll take that a no then!" I retorted into his ear.

"But that takes away the fun~!" Ikuto whined again, eyes sparkling. I sighed loudly and took step back and looked at him. He looked at me, obviously confused as to why I wasn't doing anything. I stepped forward and stomped on his foot. All sounds stopped. Ikuto wore an expression of **complete and absolute** pain. I leaned forward again, pressing more weight on his foot before stopping.

"Be thankful that I'm letting you off the hook at this point. It's because you're my boyfriend that you're not dying in this situation. Understand?" I whispered with a hint of annoyance in my voice and he nodded rapidly before I lifted my foot.

"Can I stay?" he asked as I started get stuff out of my backpack. I looked up with the most menacing glare I could muster.

"Is that a question?" I glared at him, daring him to say something other than a submissive ' _No'_ to my question. I felt glares bore into the back of my head and scoffed.

"Maybe." he said, a nonchalant looking smirk on his face, although I could tell he was sweating on the inside. I gritted my teeth and sighed. Hold it in Amu. Hold it in. You can punch him on the way home. If you punch him right now, you can get a referral. Although it really wouldn't matter, since Utau _was_ the office aid… ' _You're definitely pushing your luck today, Ikuto.'_ I thought to myself.

"Ikuto, I'm tired of dealing with you. It's flipping-" I glanced at the clock. "-8:55 in the morning!" a few girls gasped at me calling his first name. I rolled my eyes and stared at him, hands on hips. "Speaking of the time, class is going to start soon so leave right **now**." I pointed at the door.

"Fine." he said, sighing and leaning back. I sighed in relief and turned around to finish with my stuff.

Ikuto's POV

I peeked an eye open as Amu turned away and smirked slightly as I leaned in abruptly. She stiffened under me.

"Bye, strawberry." I cooed jokingly into her ear. She tried her hardest to hide her blushing face before gritting her teeth. I smirked. She's really cute when she does tha- I was snapped out of my thoughts with the connection of her elbow with my stomach. I groaned while clutching my stomach. _Ouch_.

"I was going to hold in but I couldn't help myself." she turned to look at me with a completely forced, twitching smile. The expression simply said, ' _Get out of here right now or you'll regret it for the rest of your life.'_ Really, she was my girlfriend, but boy is she scary. Oh right, Amu isn't a morning person. Really, what the time and place a certain situation takes place can do to a person. I shivered slightly. _Scary_.

"That's fine." I gave a realistic but fake smile and squeals erupted in the room. I wanted to wince but I withstood the pain. "Have a nice day, strawberry!" I blew a kiss at her, which the girls around her dived to catch, and walked towards the door, the sea of fangirls parting like I was Moses. I stopped at the door for second, waved at Amu, who was seething by the way, and resumed walking through the hallways.

"Ne, ne, Iku-" I groaned. This girl. Her name was Ikumi. Apparently, according to her and her sources -wherever the heck **that's** from- she and I were "meant to be" because our names started with the same syllable. I cut her off.

"It's Tsukiyomi-kun." I corrected her sharply. She pouted, her face slathered with makeup. Not that I hate girls wearing makeup, but it was overdone. To be honest.

"But Iku-rin~" she whined, ignoring what I had just said. "You let **that** girl call you your first name!" I rolled my eyes, facing away from her.

"Well I say we're not close enough." I said with a sigh, facing her pointedly. "And stop calling me that pet name. It's disturbing." I said. I didn't want to be mean, but I had to be straightforward so I didn't have to hurt her more later. Her lower lip quivered. _And here come the crocodile tears._ I hadn't even been at this school for a week and I already had this happening to me every day.

"But-" she blubbered.

"If you don't call me Tsukiyomi-kun, I'll just ignore you." I said before walking quickly ahead. God, I just made things worse, didn't I? I'm hopeless at human relations. This is one of the reasons why Amu is such a perfect match for me. I spaced for a bit. Bad idea. Bad idea, Ikuto Tsukiyomi. I snapped back into the real world and reached my destination just as the bell rang.

"Whew. Narrowly made it. Again." I muttered, sitting in my seat in the very back the classroom. Thankfully the annoying girl was in another class. Dealing with fangirls does tire you out.

* * *

Me: Dun dun dun~! A new evil character besides Tadase!

Amu: *slaps me on the cheek*

Me: *cries in the corner* But I tried my best writing this~.

Ikuto: Aww strawberry, were you jealous.

Amu: No, I was annoyed at you. **Extremely**. *scary mode*

Ikuto: *gulps and runs*

Amu: *chases Ikuto*

Utau, Kukai, & Nagi: We didn't make an appearance. -_-;

Rima: *sigh* Please review so the rest of us get screen time as well!

* * *

Hello everyone, it's me, the author of this still-developing fanfic! (Duh) Due to school and homework and stuff like that, I have died from not writing properly. T^T Thank you so much for waiting and I'll try my best to update as often as possible!

Also, as a side note, since this fanfic is almost complete, I will be updating you guys on some of the possible plots for my next fanfic! Please read them over, it helps a lot. Although none are up yet, I will tell you as soon as they are up! ( . _ . ) Thanks for your time! ^^

Arigato & yoroshiku onegaishimasu!


	24. Chapter 24

Me: ...Hello. *crickets chirp, dust ball flies by*

Amu: Wow... it's been such a long time... I thought you were dead?

Me: I might as well be... T^T school's kicking my a- I mean, butt.

Ikuto: *raises eyebrow after reading chapter* You took 2 months to write **this**?

Me: -_- I would kick you but Amu would get mad at me.

Amu: Actually I don't care.

Ikuto: Try me shortie.

Me: WTF do you mean shortie? I'm only 6 inches shorter than you a**hole!

Ikuto: Language. And 6 inches is half a foot, dumb*ss. *flicks my forehead* What are you gonna do, fight my stomach.

Me: Say goodbye to your kneecaps and internal organs, you major sh*thead. ^^

Amu: This horrible violent author who uses vulgar language doesn't own us and please enjoy!

Me: *bows*

* * *

Special thanks to Amuto101 who reviewed the last chapter, and followed and favorited this story. T^T Another thanks to calmartist who favorited this story, and VioletzDreamz for favoriting this! I'M JUST SO OVERWHELMED I'M GETTING EMOTIONAL T^T THANK YOU SO MUCH! *coughs* I mean, I should stopped being weird... Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 24

Ikuto's POV

By the end of second period, I was practically pulling my hair out in annoyance. On the inside of course. I stared impatiently at the clock like that was going to make its hands go faster. But, no such luck. There was still 18 minutes left in class. It's hard to pay attention to a lecture if you already know everything in the first place anyway. I groaned in annoyance and leaned on my hand, attempting for the thousandth time to look the slightest bit interested the boring lecture the teacher was giving. Of course, everyone else was frantically scribbling notes in preparation for the upcoming exam. I drummed my fingers quietly on the table, waiting for something interesting to happen. Or the bell to ring. I sighed in defeat, putting my head on the table. A wave of nostalgia washed over me and I realized this was why I had stopped coming to school in the first place. I already knew everything. Well, either that, or I had somehow correctly guessed everything on every single exam ever and got it correct. Even on the writing questions. Which I'm guessing is impossible. I sighed loudly and looked up surprised, hoping no one had heard me. Noticing everyone was still scribbling notes with the exception of some kids staring out the window or at me, strangely, like it was completely weird that I wasn't taking notes. I hoped they'd realize that they weren't taking notes either. I looked up at the clock yet again, exasperated to find that two minutes and nine seconds had passed since I'd checked the clock last. I really didn't like having long bits of time to myself. Because then my head would fill with many other thoughts that I didn't exactly like. For example, how Easter would be handed down to me, how I still needed to be " **trained"** to be the proper CEO Easter needs. How the whole family name rests on me and how I have to lead the next generation.

 _ ***Flashback***_

 _I sat at the huge desk before me. Paperwork scattered, books piled, ink smeared. Long story short, the whole room was just a mess. I copied down every single thing in every book, searing the words into my mind. I honestly didn't even know why I was trying so hard. Glance, scribble. Record, review. I gave a dull glance towards the door. There was no clock in the room, so I was just guessing that it was about lunch time. I waited for a few seconds, staring at the door, but quickly picked up the work again, scanning and permanently engraving the words into my memory. The door suddenly burst open, startling me. Of course, I didn't show it. I heaved an inward sigh of relief and pretended to be completely mesmerized in the work. After finding out that I was a genius, (well not really, I was just really good at memorizing things) my stepfather, whom my mother had been practically forced to marry, shoved me into the study, day after day after day. The first few days were torture. On the day my stepfather came upon this decision, I was playing outside in the garden with Utau. He stepped out of the shadow and boldly stated,_

" _Come with me, Ikuto." said an unusually nice voice that I'd only heard when he was speaking to my mother, trying to coax something out of her. I looked at him, full of wariness and uncertainty. But before I could respond or say anything, open my mouth even, Utau jumped in front of me._

" _But onii-chan was playing with me!" she said with a pout. Something in our stepfather's eyes changed. My eyes widened and before I could scream for Utau to move away, the hand was already swinging towards her. I reached out a hand, and everything went in slow motion. But nothing went the way I wanted it to go. The evil hand got there first, hitting Utau square in the jaw, and her small body flew across the lawn, smashing against the wall and falling harshly onto a sharp rock, which could clearly pierce skin. And it did. Blood was everywhere, Utau was crying, and I took no more than a small step towards her before my arm was grabbed._

" _You're coming with me,_ _ **boy**_ _." he growled at me, tugging on my arm. I tugged back, hard enough I was sure my arm was going to snap in half._

" _But Utau-" I was cut off with a smack on the cheek. I stared up at him in disbelief and anger. He glared down at me._

" _If you don't want her to be injured further, from now on you will not talk to her, ignore her whenever she talks to you, and avoid all unnecessary contact with your damned mother and sister. Got it?" I didn't respond. Hot anger filled my body and I stood there, ready to explode. "Do you understand or not?" The wretched man slapped me again, and I faced Utau, who was still crying her eyes out, and the maids were rushing out from the main house. All the anger melted out of me and my arms went limp, hanging at my sides. I knew a promise was worthless, so I just replied simply._

" _Fine." I muttered gravely as he gave an unsatisfactory grunt and shoved the door open, walking into the estate, dragging me by the arm. We reached a dark dusty room which was only used for when Utau and I wanted to play hide and seek. But even so, barely ever, because apparently, it was 'haunted'. I looked up at him, half with disbelief at the wretched study room, and the other half just plain angry at him. He opened his mouth to speak._

" _You will, from now on, stay in this room, and spend your days memorizing all the books on the shelves and on the ground. In them is everything that you will need to know about economics. I expect it all to be memorized within a month. I gaped at the tall bookcases, 20 or more of them in just my line of sight, and even books were splayed across the ground. I was just about to snap when he added, "And expect that if you fail to do so, your mother and sister will not be treated well." I gritted my teeth and marched into the dank room smelling of old paper. The door closed behind me and I rubbed my sore arm before walking and picking up a random book. I opened it up to the first page, and didn't understand a single word. I looked up in despair hoping for a dictionary or something. But all I saw was the piles and piles of books in the dim lighting of the room._

 _ ***End Flashback***_

I was jolted out of my thoughts as the fire alarm started blaring. A static sound clawed at my ears and the announcements came on.

"All students please remain calm and walk to the designated fire-safety zone in your classroom area. I repeat, please remain calm. Thank you." The students collectively groaned and stood up from their seats while the teacher tried to grab everyone's attention.

"Please go out of the classroom in an orderly fashion. Single-file lines please!" the short, pudgy middle-aged woman shouted over buzzing voices. "Keep quiet!" she yelled. However, as expected, no one listened to her. I rolled my eyes and kept walking. Who knows, maybe I'd see Amu.

Rima's POV

I was jolted out of a perfect session of spacing out of the stupid lecture being given at the front of class by the class president by the blasting fire alarm. I smirked at her annoyed little stomp on the floor before covering it up with a small cough after noticing Nagihiko's bored gaze on her and flashed a quick smile in our direction. Slightly annoyed at Nagihiko, I elbowed him in the side harshly to gain his attention.

"What Rima?" he whispered in my ear, rubbing his side at my expertly aimed elbowed that had completely hit home. I shrugged and shot a glare in the general direction of the front of the class. I heard Nagihiko chuckle beside me as we got up to follow the protocol for the case of fire. "Jealous, are we?" I shot a quick glare at him this time.

"The heck no." I said, dead serious with a pissed expression. Nagi just laughed and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Sure." he whispered in my ear. Ugh. I could feel the smirk and sly eyebrow raise right next to my face. Instead of responding to his teasing I looked at his arm. His eyes followed mine to the place where the wound would be under the jacket of the school uniform. We both stared at it in an awkward silence for a bit.

"How's it healing?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Guilt tore at my stomach and more words threatened to tumble out. Nagi just chuckled and ruffled my hair.

"Rima, it's only been like 4 days. Knife wounds don't heal that fast." I smoothed my hair out and glared at him with a pout on my face. "Well, it's getting better." I looked ahead again, satisfied at the serious answer he gave me. "...You're not going to make a comment?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Do I have to?" I asked and resumed walking before the class president exploded all over me saying that I wasn't following protocol.

"I mean you don't have to…" Nagi muttered. I shrugged and linked an arm around his good arm. Usually physical contact wasn't allowed at school, but no one followed that rule anyways.

"You better get better soon, or I'll be real upset." I muttered and dragged a happy Nagi with me towards the field.

I spotted Amu near our end of the field, her pink hair clearly visible through the seas of brown and black. I remember how the teachers reacted in middle school when her parents told them pink was her natural hair color. I chuckled at the small memory and turned my head to see a Nagi who was giving me a look. I coughed and unhooked our arms before crossing two of my own, waiting for the drill to be over.

"Rima!" Nagi poked me.

"What?" I said, annoyed. Nagi pointed at Amu who was waving to me. I smiled and waved back.

"Wow, you're too cold Rima." Nagi said, pretending to be hurt.

"Whatever could you mean?" I asked pretending to not know what he was talking about.

"Rimaaaaa!" he whined. I cracked up and starting giggling. He chuckled along and I got a text.

From: Amu

What the heck guys? I came out here for a fire drill, not to see a romance movie!

I rolled my eyes and sent her a text.

To: Amu

What, you're jealous? Don't be, we all know you secretly got Ikuto ;)

I watched as she got all flustered and hid her phone, chuckling. I saw her frantically typing something and a bunch of people heading towards her.

To: Amu

Um….btw, speaking of Ikuto…. Look behind you… Lol

Amu immediately stopped typing and looked behind herself, confused. Not seeing the crowd yet she turned her attention back to her phone.

From: Amu

Wdym? I don't see anything… - _ -

To: Amu

Wait for it…..

I snickered as Amu found herself surrounding by the 50000000 fangirls Ikuto had managed to gain so far.

To: Amu

Good luck surviving the angry fangirl horde..

I smirked and shoved my phone in my pocket. This was going to be an interesting story to hear later.

* * *

Me: I kinda feel bad for Amu after writing this...

Amu: Then why'd you write it? T^T

Me: *shrugs* Just cuz.

Amu: You demon spawn.

Me: Thank you. ^^

Rima: What the... I don't text like that. -_-

Nagihiko: Yeah you do.

Ikuto: So what do you guys think about this stupid chapter? *is wrapped in bandages*

Me: *glares*

Ikuto: I mean, please review for our great and mighty author who did such a great job at writing this.

Me: Thank you! ^^

* * *

Hello... I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for not updating. School's been killing me big time, and I started taking an extra class outside of school which gives me no time to write. I tried my best to come out with a good chapter but I'm afraid it's a little choppy because it was written over such a long period of time. But on a different note! This story is seriously starting to come to an end... I can't believe it! Should I just end it with an extremely long chapter or like 5 more chapters? Please let me know what you think! I would like your input!

감사합니다!Thank you! ありがとう!


	25. Chapter 25

Me: *internal screaming*

Shugo Chara Cast: *sweatdrop*

Me: Remember when I actually used to have time to write? I can't believe it! I told myself I'd try harder and I come back with the first update in like.. 4 **months**.

Ikuto: Shut up and stop complaining, you've already caused enough inconvenience. *smacks my head*

Me: TT^TT Life is cruel... I'm so sorry for not updating sooner... **GOMENASAI! *bows***

Amu: *sigh* Well, I guess the author _**still**_ doesn't own anything.

Me: Yep. Please enjoy this long overdue chapter... T^T

* * *

Before we officially get started... **SPECIAL THANKS GO OUT TO:**

Amuto101: Haha lol yeah I shouldn't beat up Ikuto, he's a main character XD (Ikuto: Is that all I'm worth? - o -;)

VioletzDreamz: For the review and favorite T^T

Bellevy: For EVERYTHING (quite literally, even a review)

RinPekoGakkuri: T^T I'm sorry to disappoint you as soon as you favorite me

...AND a Guest, who re-motivated my motivation (XD that doesn't even make sense)

"You. Better. Update. Soon" I'm so sorry! *_* (that was January 23rd...oops.) Well, here you go!

Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 25

Amu's POV

What the actual heck? I looked up from my phone to find an entire crowd centered around me. I was thoroughly confused for a moment before just deciding to relocate. With an annoyed huff I just plugged in my earbuds into my phone before walking away.

To: Rima

What the heck was that about?! Wdym fangirl horde tho?

I watched as Rima lifted her head and nodded behind me. I looked around to find myself surrounded by strangers. Again. I groaned in frustration before realizing that maybe the crowd was following me. But why? I thought for a second. Then I realized the people were all girls. That could only mean one of two things: Tadase or Ikuto. One thing was sure, though. I wouldn't be all that happy to either of them right now. I decided to take my chance and dig into the fangirl horde to discover who was in the middle of it. I took a deep breath before shoving my way through the crowd. The few people on the outer ring were actually quite skeptical about it so they let me through easily, but as soon as I'd made out the distance of about 2 feet, the jungle of limbs started growing denser and denser until eventually I was trying my hardest just to not be shoved outward. I craned my neck in an attempt to get a good glance when my phone vibrated. I glanced at it, noticing I'd received a text from Rima.

From: Rima

THE FLIP R U DOING?! DO U WANT TO DIE?

I could practically hear the panic and peril in her text. I shrugged and smiled, even though she couldn't see me and shoved my phone deep within my pocket in order to keep it from falling out. Cracking my neck, I took a deep breath and put out a hand to push my way through the crowd. Just then the sea of screaming girls split apart, causing me to completely lose my balance and fall through. Head-first into someone's chest. I tensed up and tried to remove myself from the awkward position but didn't want to at the same time. I groaned inwardly in frustration, clenching my eyes shut. What was I going to do now?

 _ ***Before fire alarm***_

Kukai's POV

(A/N: Ahahahaha no I totally didn't forget about Kukai and Utau for like the past chapter or something like that.. **Totally** ^^;) I watched quietly as Utau wrote out late slips for other students. She paused and stretched out her arms, which were probably cramped from writing all morning. She yawned and resumed working while I stood there and watched in amusement, a small smile placed on the corner of my mouth. A small chuckle escaped my lips as Utau yawned yet again. Her head snapped up and scanned the room for the source of the sound until she finally spotted me.

"Took you long enough." I chuckled and glanced at her, amusement apparent in my voice. She turned beet-red before looking to me in confusion.

"..."

"..."

"Are you skipping **class** to be here right now?" she screamed in bewilderment. I shrugged. Utau's eyes widened and I burst out in laughter. "What's so funny?!" she screeched at me. I continued laughing. After laughing for a good 2 minutes I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"No, I'm not skipping class. I sprained my ankle in P.E. and need an ice pack. And possibly someone to escort me back?" I winked at her. She quickly looked around for spectators, face redder than a cherry.

"You can shut up." she snapped at me and I chuckled lightly. She mumbled something under her breath. I leaned forward.

"Hm?" I inquired wordlessly, putting my hand to my ear. Utau reddened even more if that was possible, contrasting greatly from her usually deathly pale skin.

"I said, 'I'll still drop you off.'" she said, completely flustered, waving her arms around and glaring at me.

"Alright, alright. Just let me get this wrapped up first." I laughed and gestured to my right ankle. Utau rolled her eyes at me. She pointed her thumb behind her, in the direction of the infirmary. Wordlessly, she started walking towards the room. I grinned and followed behind her, awkwardly hopping along. Upon reaching the room I sat down on the bed and lifted my foot. She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Aren't you going to wrap it yourself?" My grin dropped and I pouted at her.

"Please?" I whined.

"P-please wh-what?" she stuttered out.

"Wrap it for meee." I said and grinned childishly. She blew the bangs out of the way from her face and sighed.

"Ugh. Fine." I watched closely as she grabbed the bandage, tape, and scissors and kneeled down to examine the state of my ankle. The moment she poked it, I lurched back. Raising her eyebrow again, Utau carely removed my shoe and sock.

"Souma Kukai. What in the **world** have you done to your foot?!" she screamed in surprise. "Your foot is completely black and purple!" I opened my mouth to speak but paused. "Well? Care to give an explanation?" she said in annoyance.

"I, um….sprained it on the trampoline at home about 2 or 3 days ago and I've been attending soccer practice on it before and after school. And plus all the running we do in P.E." I laughed awkwardly. "It might also be because I rolled it twice today and tripped on the stairs."

" **Are you flipping crazy?"** she screamed at me. "Don't you know it only gets worse if you put off healing it?" she was fuming at this point. "Are you stupid? Because you sure act like it!" she harshly grabbed the bandage from next to me, where she'd put it earlier and started wrapping it roughly around the pained area. I winced and flinched.

"That hurts…" I muttered bitterly.

"Well you deserve it so shut up, okay? Okay." she got up suddenly and went to the cupboard to grab two things. One was a tight fabric ankle brace, and the other was… a note. I sighed. She wrote the note first.

"Souma-san has badly injured his right ankle. He will not be able to play soccer for at **least** 2 weeks." she read aloud as she was writing. "The school nurse." she echoed as she quickly signed the note off. I sighed again.

"Utau, the championship is in a month and a half, I can't afford to take a rest right now, coach will kill me! Or not let me play in the championships." I winced as she shoved the ankle brace on my ankle and bound it tightly. "Also, are you allowed to fake notes like that?" I yelped in pain as she tightened the brace yet again.

"Don't you know that putting it off won't do you any good either? I mean, if it doesn't heal, you won't be able to play anyway!" she screamed in frustration. "Why were you even on the flipping trampoline in the first place?!" she yelled, poorly trying to keep her short temper under control and an aggravated tone clearly apparent in her voice.

"Long story short, I was babysitting my cousins and they wanted to play on the trampoline. I tripped and one of them jumped on my ankle." I gave a nervous laugh as Utau clenched her teeth visibly.

"YOU IDIOT!" she screamed and smacked me on the back of my head.

A few moments later, we were making our way down the hallway of the school, back out towards the track where the rest of my class was. Utau was supporting me from my right side, trying hard not to move too abruptly or fast. We were nearing the field and I looked to the side to see Utau panting with the effort of fully supporting almost the entirety of my weight. She noticed me glancing and growled out,

"If you feel so bad, why don't you try and help me?!" We, well… **she** stopped momentarily, causing my injured leg to swing into hers. The impact sent us into a wall. Straight. Into. The. Fire. Alarm. Why was the case **open** anyway?! We looked at each other, grave looks on our faces. The alarms located everywhere in our moderately sized campus started blaring, red lights flashing the warning sound.

"Oh sh*t." I said.

"Souma Kukai!" Utau yelled in frustration.

"Oops."

After Chapter:

Third Person POV

Unbeknownst to Kukai and Utau, who were too busy arguing about whose fault it was, a figure stood and watched them from the shadows. It was all working out the way they'd planned it. The figure grinned and looked down at their phone which had pictures ranging from the time frame of from inside the infirmary to the fire alarm incident just now.

"You two are **over**." the figure chuckled darkly.

* * *

Me: Dun. **Dun. DUNNNN!** A new antagonist now, eh? *eyebrow wriggles* /slapped

Ikuto: Serves you right *laughing*

Me: *clutching cheek* T^T I'm sorry!

Kukai: NOOO! YOU HAD TO TAKE SOCCER AWAY. SOCCER OF ALL THINGS!

Utau: So you would've rather had lost me instead of soccer?

Kukai: ... o_o

Utau: *irk mark* You. Little-

Me: *censors*

Rima: Aha... R.I.P. Souma-senpai... please review for this horrid author so that she can fill her egotastic ego -_-;

Me: ...TT^TT Thank you for reading..!

* * *

Hello, hello! It's AwkwardAuthor25 here, updated and upgraded into a more depressing, dank version of my former self... Q-Q I'm so sorry I haven't been updating properly! It's all part of my incapability to be a good author! I hope you'll forgive me. (If you're reading this footnote) *bow* **But!** All apologies aside, after a year of this fanfiction, its finally starting to come to its end! Ah I've grown so attached to it though... T^T I wonder if my writing has improved in the slightest? Anyway, because this fanfic is winding down to its last few chapters, here are a couple of exciting (I think) notices!

\- I'm working on developing my new plot for my next fanfic, probably another Shugo Chara! one... ( **Spoiler alert much** )

\- I'm finishing a Your Lie in April oneshot that I've been working on since **FOREVER** (I'll let you guys know when I publish it so if you like the anime or just if you're feeling nice, please go check it out!) (Shameless self-promotion... I cry so hard)

\- I'm working on gathering material for a series I've wanted to start for a while now, so please look up to heads-up on that!

I SHOULD BE SLEEPING I HAVE TO GET UP AT 6:30 TOMORROW AND ITS 1:19 (And I wonder why I'm so tired all the time...)

As always, thank you so much for reading, and I love you all.. TT^TT ( **in the non-creepy way!** )

Arigato Gozaimasu!


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